


Anew

by TheWinterComet



Series: Second Chance [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Jouto-chihou | Johto, Major Original Character(s), Novelization Sort Of?, POV Alternating, Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-08-04 12:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 143,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16346561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWinterComet/pseuds/TheWinterComet
Summary: You must chase your goal into a new unknown, and only then may you call yourself a Pokémon trainer. Ciel Fauder is thrust into the life of a trainer in an attempt to find purpose, while Ethan Hibiki and Lyra Kotone chase a delinquent connected to a criminal revival. Extended retelling of HGSS, focusing on both original and canon characters.





	1. Sunrise

To Ciel, the village of Mahogany seemed the type to take any excuse to party. He couldn't tell if they were partying to celebrate the two new Gym Leaders or to honor Pryce in his retirement. Nobody he asked really seemed to know, and he'd bet that no one really cared.

Mahogany village was definitely… a village. There were only about twenty buildings in total, including the Gym. He was certain the entire population of the small hamlet had gathered. They were excited to have an opportunity to throw around a few drinks and dance into the night.

Ciel busied himself with conversation. Only a few locals were around his age and he neither knew nor could immediately remember any of their names. That was alright. Either there would be plenty of time to get familiar with everyone if he stayed in Mahogany, or it wouldn't matter. He still hadn't decided yet.

He felt himself growing ever distracted as he tried to maintain a chat with the people in front of him. Two older women, holding drinks and doting on him, and another guy his age vied for his attention. None were getting it, as he was too deep in his own thoughts.

Ciel had lived in Goldenrod City for his entire life and had graduated from Goldenrod High School less than a year ago. Since then, he'd been content to continue living with his parents and take some basic jobs to make money until he made his decision.

He liked to consider himself more prepared than most. He knew what he wanted to do. His parents were both trainers. He'd watched competitive battling since he was a kid. He already had a partner Pokémon, and his Trainer Card was registered as soon as he left high school. More than anything, he wanted to be a Pokémon trainer himself.

Being a Pokémon trainer meant leaving home. He'd travel around his home region of Johto and undertake the Gym Challenge. Most major regions in the world had a series of Gyms, institutions where rising trainers proved their mettle by battling against a Gym Leader. Each Gym Leader specialized in a certain variety of Pokémon and acted both as tests for new trainers and as representatives of their home cities. His own parents had taken up the mantle to represent Mahogany.

Ciel wanted, no,  _needed_  to be a Pokémon trainer. He needed to rise to the challenge and be the best person he could be with Pokémon at his side.

He just didn't know if he was ready to take that step. Ciel knew what he wanted, but he didn't know what being a Pokémon trainer meant to him. Every trainer had a purpose, but he didn't have the slightest clue.

The teenager was snapped out of his conversation—and his distracting thoughts—by a tug on his arm. Looking down, his eleven-year-old sister Laina had a miserable look on her face. Absolutely miserable. "I want a cookie," she pouted.

He held back a chuckle at her expense. "I suppose you're just going to have to wait until they bring food out, sis," he told her, wide grin on his face.

"But, I want a cookie!"

Ciel poked the tip of her nose, causing her to flinch. "Don't pout. Don't you know that patience is a virtue?"

"Cookies are a virtue too." She crossed her arms and turned away, grumbling. Laina let out a huff, puffing her cheeks until they were adorably red.

"Hey, Laina, let's go find Mom," Ciel said.

He bid goodbye to the people he was speaking to and waded through the thick crowd that flowed around the communal center of the village. Banners were strung up across the buildings and on posts, complete with hanging lights and torches burning into the sky. Ciel was in awe of the colors displayed around them, starting to really appreciate the atmosphere and the happiness that the celebration was bringing.

People danced freely. Everywhere he looked, men and women, men and men, women and women were locked in arms and tossing their weight around to the beat of live folk music. Screams of joy were silenced with alcohol before crying out again in jubilation. A constant chatter held in the air, feeling both inviting and overwhelming.

Ciel called back. "Laina, you still there?"

"Yeah!" his sister shouted, pumping her short arms in the air.

He reached down, grabbed his younger sister's hand, and squeezed tight. "Stay with me, alright?"

The siblings weaved through the crowd, watching it thin out. Ciel narrowed his eyes overhead. He looked for tell-tale signs of the Mahogany Gym where his parents were likely to be. They'd disappeared after their formal introduction at the beginning of the celebration and the people of the village quickly forgot about them.

They left the party crowd completely, and Ciel sighed in relief as he spied his mother speaking to a frail-looking old man. He was wearing a fine blue coat, and Ciel suddenly wished he had something to fight back the chill.

"Oh?" The old man noticed them as they approached. He was leaning on a cane. "Might these be your children, Kori?"

"Yes. I thought you had met them before," his mother said.

The old man sized up the siblings. "Definitely not. I'd trust myself to remember faces that look like such magnets for trouble!

The man let out a cough-ridden laugh. Ciel felt embarrassments in his cheeks. He wasn't a trouble magnet. Usually.

"Mom, who is he?" Laina asked.

"Kids, this is Mister Yanagi, the former Gym Leader of Mahogany," his mother introduced. "He's the one whose position your father and I are taking over."

The old man raised his eyebrows. "You bunch are a long way from Goldenrod."

Oh. Ciel mentally slapped himself. Mr. Yanagi's face was on pictures his mother kept in her bedroom, and he'd seen the man sparsely on the internet and on posters. He was one of the strongest and most famous trainers in the entire region.

He held out his hand. "Pryce Willow Yanagi. It's a pleasure, young man."

"Ciel Fauder," he introduced, taking Pryce's hand with a firm shake.

"I'm Laina!" his sister cheered next to him.

"Well, it's certainly nice to meet the both of you. I'm sure my Gym is going to be in good hands with your family."

"That's up to her, sir." Ciel pointed at his mother.

"I suppose it is. You're a Pokémon trainer yourself, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Drop the sirs."

"Sorry, sir. Err… sorry."

"Drop the apologies."

"Sor- wait..." Ciel cut himself off, causing Pryce to throw back his head in laughter. His mother gave him a dirty look. Ciel's cheeks were heating up again. A few moments of silence left the entire situation feeling a bit awkward, and he was still getting cold.

His sister approached the man, causing him to look down. "Are you a strong trainer, mister?"

"That's a good question." To meet her eye, the former Gym Leader gripped his cane and slowly lowered himself to a crouch. He smiled.

"And what's a good answer?" She asked.

"I've traveled the world over with my Pokémon. We've seen quite a lot together and understand each other better than perhaps I do any person. So, I suppose you can say I am strong in that regard."

"Well, mom's still the strongest trainer I know," Laina contested, crossing her arms.

"I wouldn't go that far, sweetie," his mother said. "He did teach me nearly everything I know, after all."

"Oh, don't flatter me, Kori. By the time you reach my age, you'll have far been my superior. Your husband is nothing to scoff at either. I've seen his tournament work."

If only he had anything beyond that, Ciel thought to himself. He wouldn't say it aloud, of course.

His sister changed the subject, having lost interest in the conversation. Laina said, "Mom, I want a cookie."

"The food should be ready soon. Would you like to go get one and dance at the party?" his mother asked.

His younger sister flashed a wide smile and threw her arms in the air. She shouted, "Okay!"

His mother took his sister's hand and led her back towards the crowd. His sister was excited beyond recognition, and it was clear even in the late evening that she wasn't going to bed anytime soon. "Take care, Ciel. Tell your father we're going to enjoy ourselves!"

"Sure, I will," he lied.

This left him alone with the former Gym Leader, who was eying him with a raised eyebrow. Ciel stared up at the Gym, a large building adorned with icicles hanging off of its roof. It was an old building, he guessed, painted plainly in white with a red roof. A sigil of the Pokémon League hung worn over the door.

Pryce kept silent, and Ciel was forced eventually to meet the man's eye. His short form looked swallowed within the scarf he was wearing. Despite his body looking frail, his eyes had a distinct fire betraying both his age and his Type specialization.

"Sir, err…" he caught himself again. "Do you need something?"

Pryce smiled. "No. I don't think you could give any more answers than I already have."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The man slammed his cane into the frozen ground, causing Ciel to startle. The fire was burning brighter now, and Pryce's face was marked by the combination of a youthful eagerness and a veteran's confidence. Reaching into his coat, the former Gym Leader retrieved a red and white capsule.

"Would you like to find out?"

Ciel was frozen, and not due to the approaching chill of the night. He was being challenged to a Pokémon battle. It wouldn't be a friendly skirmish between a few of his friends back in Goldenrod or a half-hearted waste of time with random trainers on the street. A real one. A battle against one of the strongest trainers in the entire region.

He didn't know how to respond. Still unsure of himself and hardly able to call himself a trainer, there was no way he could win. However, he did know one thing. A true trainer never rejects a challenge.

"You're on, Mister Yanagi," he said.

He ruffled back his hair and curled his thumb and index finger into shape to whistle. The ringing sound echoed into the air around them. He sunk his hands into his pockets, waiting for his partner to appear.

He expected Raven to make a show. She'd drop the shadows and growl menacingly to prove her own intimidation factor. Absol was a menacing Pokémon species—felines with black skin yet white fur and a sharp sickle-like weapon protruding from their heads.

Ciel watched with disappointment as his Absol slowly strolled from the direction of the crowd. At regular intervals, Raven stopped walked and stretched her legs, yawning as she did so.

Both Pryce and Ciel stood in awkward exasperation as the fluffed creature took to the field. He gave the man a shrug, to which Pryce turned away and held a fist to his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Ciel scolded, as Raven stood her ground in front of him. She responded with another yawn.

"Strange for a Johtoan trainer to have such a Pokémon. Is there a story behind that?"

"A bit of a long one," he said.

"I'll ask some other time, then." Pryce grinned and tapped his cane on the ground. "Are the two of you ready?"

"Ready as we can be," Ciel said. His Absol agreed with a half-hearted growl and gave her best attempt at a battle stance.

"Well, now it's my turn. Piloswine!"

The old man lobbed the Poké Ball skyward with surprising dexterity. The orb rotated in mid-air until it popped open, releasing a stream of glowing red light. Striking the ground, the energy of the stream solidified into the construct of a Pokémon's body. The red glow flashed and dissipated into the night sky, revealing the powerful, fur-coated body of Pryce's Pokémon. Piloswine was a bulky mammal with powerful tusks adorning its head

"Since we don't have a referee, I'll give you the first move. Hit me with all you've got, young man."

"Raven, use Slash!" he shouted, thrusting his arm forward.

His Absol bounded forward with a strong push from her back legs. She crossed the battlefield with surprising speed and closed the distance in a second. she torqued her head in the direction of her bulky opponent.

"Catch, Piloswine," Pryce commanded.

Piloswine met Raven's charge with a bite. It chomped down onto the Absol's blade as it swung to connect with its head, stopping her momentum and putting the two at a standstill. The two creatures' eyes locked and Raven released a pained growl at the pressure.

"Now, if you would," he started, tapping his cane again. "Take Down."

"Raven, get out of the way!" Ciel shouted, realizing what a poor situation he put his partner in.

His warning made no difference. A sickening crack sounded and his Absol's body was flung across the arena, sliding through the cold dirt in front of him. He had a strong urge to run to his partner to check for damage, but that was technically against sanctioned battle rules.

Raven stumbled to her feet. What he'd found in their time together as partners was that her species was relatively fragile; rather than being naturally defensive, they were more inclined to dodge and outmaneuver their opponents to circumvent that weakness. It was his own fault that he urged her to charge forward without a plan.

"Okay, Raven, approach him slowly. Don't drop your guard!" he shouted.

Following his command, his Absol slowly stalked forward, still shaking from the previous blow. Pryce watched the Pokémon with an amused expression, but he didn't call an attack. The feline stopped of her own accord, planting herself about a meter away from the Piloswine.

Now was his chance. "Quick Attack!"

Raven closed the distance and slashed across the Piloswine's fur. The lunge was quick enough to catch it off guard, even at close range, and Raven bounced back to safety before the creature could deliver another bite. Unfortunately, the Piloswine either wasn't injured or it completely ignored the injury it sustained. The two Pokémon once again locked eyes, exchanging growls.

The old man stared around their makeshift battlefield in front of the gym for a moment, as if contemplating something. Rather than order his Absol to attack, Ciel took the tense pause as a generous few moments for her to recuperate. He could still see her sway and clenched his fist. He swore at the thought of her sustaining a permanent injury.

Pryce then looked back up and grinned. "Yes, this should do. Piloswine, Ancient Power!"

An eerie glow invaded the air as Pryce's Pokémon focused a strange energy. Loose dirt layering the ground around them lifted into the air with ease, some particles flying haphazardly out of range of their battle.

Ciel nearly lost his footing as large chunks of dirt and stone were wrestled from the ground into the air by the mysterious force. Holding his ground, his eyes widened as he saw the empowered stones flying towards him and his partner.

"Hit the deck, Raven!" he yelled before kicking his legs out from underneath himself and dropping to his stomach.

His partner did the same, but the delay in her reaction caused her to be hit directly by one of the flying boulders—a small one. It tore a cut across her hide, though superficial, and she cried out in pain. Ciel stood to his feet. He tried to call another attack but hesitated.

He couldn't just overpower his opponent as he had in a few previous battles. Raven was a strong Pokémon, even if she was untrained compared to most, but Pryce's highly experienced, likely aged Piloswine was on an entire other level. Pryce to him was the same. Neither he nor his partner were fighting a battle they could win, and he was fully aware of that.

He moved to call out another attack but felt himself hesitate as he opened his mouth. What could they do that wasn't an act of desperation against an unbeatable opponent? What was the point of even continuing the battle?

"Don't tell me you're giving up already!" Pryce taunted from across the now scarred battlefield. "I can see the uncertainty written all over your face."

Ciel grit his teeth, hating that the man was right about his hesitation. But what could he do? Raven only knew about three attacks, but Piloswine could probably counter each of them or shrug off damage like it did to her Quick Attack. Should he go for a Slash again, since it was his most powerful option? No, that would also be the easiest for his enemy to counter.

"Come on, young man! How are you going to get anywhere if you let a little doubt keep you back?"

"But sir, you're way better than me. I don't have a chance."

"And you're letting that stop you?" There was anger in his words.

"But sir, I—"

"You'll fail, then!" he bellowed. It inspired fear to hear such power from such an unassuming, fragile person. "You can't succeed if you don't take risk. If you bow out of every risky situation, the only roads left won't be worth taking! What kind of success, what kind of life, is sitting back and allowing your adventure to pass you by?"

The young trainer clenched his fist at his side and closed his eyes.

"Do it! Hit me with everything you've got!" Pryce yelled a second time.

Ciel's eyes shot open and he swung out his arm to command. "Raven! Go!"

"Piloswine, charge!"

The field exploded into motion when both Pokémon kicked off from their standoff position and charged toward each other. Pryce's Piloswine was deceptively fast on its feet and the two rushed to collide. Raven leaped the final distance, reaching her opponent in the blink of an eye.

"Slash!" Ciel shouted with every ounce of his being.

"Double-edge!"

As quickly as it had begun, the battle ended. Raven was forced into the ground by the sheer power of her opponent's full-body move, letting out an agonized howl on impact. She slid along the dirt a short distance before coming to a stop, and knowing the fight had concluded, Ciel rushed to her for help.

She wasn't unconscious, just weakened to the point of immobility. Dirt caked her fur, and running his hands through it revealed sizable bruises and scrapes. She'd need to be taken to a Pokémon Center, quickly, so that none of her injuries worsened.

Ciel looked up as a pair of feet stopped in front of him. He couldn't bring himself to look up.

"A fun battle, wasn't it?"

"I guess so," he offered, halfheartedly.

"How is she, young man?"

"Nothing too severe, but we need to get her to a Pokémon Center," he said.

"A wise decision," Pryce said. He recalled his Piloswine to its personal capsule. The man walked away and beckoned for Ciel to follow.

He nodded, not in response but in silent acceptance to himself. He withdrew Raven's Poké Ball, and clicked the center button. It popped open and his injured partner was engulfed in red before disappearing completely into his palm.

As he stood to follow the former Gym Leader, he noticed a figure standing in the corner of his vision. Ciel turned his head, only to lock eyes with his father. The blond man's arms were crossed over his chest, and he held an expression of judgement. It made Ciel sick, and he walked away as quickly as possible. That didn't stop the feeling of eyes boring into the back of his head as he went.

As he caught up to Pryce, they had nearly already reached the Pokémon Center. Though he hadn't yet seen the building, it was a testament to how small the village really was. A few party stragglers were hanging out around the front of the building, happily sharing drinks and laughs. Pryce and Ciel passed them by, pushing open the door into the worn-looking medical facility.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center!" a bubbly woman greeted at a counter inside. The building was only a single story and couldn't have been renovated in decades, but it held a warming atmosphere.

Pryce stepped aside the counter. "I need a Pokémon healed, please," Ciel told the woman, offering the capsule. "She was injured in a battle a little while ago.

The nurse, wearing an oversized hat, bowed affirmatively and nearly dropped said hat upon doing so. She took the Poké Ball and disappeared into the back room. Once he sat down to rest, the word "ABSOL" appeared at the top spot on an old hanging monitor that constituted their waiting list.

The Gym Leader took a seat next to him after setting his cane against the wall. His knees buckled, and he groaned in pain while doing the simple action. Probably, he was obligated to congratulate his opponent for winning. In addition, even though he had forgotten in the rush of accepting the challenge, it was still custom to pay a victorious opponent, but he had no money on his person.

"That was an enjoyable battle." It wasn't really directed to Ciel, as if just a thought spoken aloud. "I think it reaffirmed everything I already guessed about you."

"What did you guess?" Ciel asked.

"That you're stuck. You don't yet have conviction as a Pokémon trainer. Your performance in battle reflected that."

Ciel didn't respond. He was right, of course, so he couldn't refute it. It didn't mean he had to like the assessment.

"You want to embark on your own journey, don't you? Did I guess right?" The man said, shining a sly smile.

There was no reason for him to answer as the old man already had all he needed. It was embarrassing that an experienced trainer could see right through him, but even more so that a near-stranger's first impression of him was a weakness.

"I was you once, you know. Your mother was you, and I her. We've all been or will be at a point where we don't know what it means. It's not supposed to come easy. You just get better." He let out a cough.

"But, sir, even if I do decide to leave, I don't have a goal to chase. I want to be a real Pokémon trainer, but what happens after that?"

Pryce nodded slowly, but he was aware that it wasn't just an affirmation. The man understood completely. "Even if you can't see the light yet, that doesn't mean you'll never find it. If you keep going, maybe the road will start to shine."

Ciel stared at him, confused at what he meant. He just shrugged. "It's from a book I read in college once. An awful book, to be honest. No real substance to it. Strange it stuck with me so long."

The man rolled up his sleeve, revealing an old yet expensive looking mechanical watch. His eyes widened a bit, and he abruptly grabbed his cane and stood from his seat.

"I've let the time slip away from me!" He laughed. "A geezer like me needs his beauty sleep. I'm sure a growing boy like you needs some as well."

"Thanks for the battle, Mr. Yanagi," Ciel said.

The man simply grunted and pushed open the door to the Pokémon Center without another word. This left Ciel to his own musings, much to his dismay. All the action was helping him put off thinking about it.

The old man was definitely holding back, there was no denying that. His Pokémon barely even moved until its final charge and could have probably even avoided the only hit Raven landed if it really had wanted to. The difference between someone like him and a seasoned, veteran trainer was jarring. Yet, it didn't really make him feel any worse.

The man was goading him to go forward, following the fire in his heart, but it wasn't that simple. Unfortunately, he'd have to decide soon. Ciel was on the cusp of adulthood and it was his duty to find his own guidance, or else he'd never really grow up. There were so many things that he didn't know and so many daunting tasks ahead, and they were barrelling towards him. It sucked.

The nurse told him that Raven's injuries weren't severe enough to require extensive treatment, but his partner would still have to stay overnight to be fully recovered. He was grateful for that. Looking around the Pokémon Center at the peeling, yellowed wallpaper and rustic designs didn't give him a good impression. Without knowing otherwise, he assumed their medical equipment might be as old as the building was.

Ciel's boots crunched through the snow as he walked towards their new home. He didn't find himself hungry enough to seek out food at the welcoming celebration for his parents. His sister and mother would enjoy it enough for him as well. He stopped in front of the small cabin they were contracted to live in, wondering how it could fit a family of four. He fumbled with his copy of the key and pushed open the door.

It didn't take him long to find his room; rather, he found a random room, since his family agreed to figure it out as they went. He quickly undressed from the day's clothing and hit the pillow, just wanting to sleep. His family spent most of the day driving hours in a stuffy sedan, and even after that, he'd still agreed to battle. Ciel was exhausted.

"I can make a decision tomorrow," he told himself. That thought carried with him as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

Sleeping didn't work out.

It must have been three or four when he decided to step outside. Ciel sat up, groggy from the lack of sleep and rubbed his eyes. After locating shoes and socks and slipping both on, he slid open the door to his room and felt his way along the hall of the small house towards the door, making certain to be slow to not disturb anyone else.

The world was silent as Ciel stepped out into the snow. A fresh coat was falling as he walked, and though he considered going back to find a jacket he'd stashed away in his luggage, he realized he didn't mind so much. If he wasn't going to be able to sleep, at least the cold would wake him up.

Despite the magnitude of the small town's celebration, the square of Mahogany was completely empty as he stepped though. The banners and decorations from earlier were strewn about, probably left after someone decided that they'd pick them up tomorrow. Putting it off, just like him.

Ciel groaned, climbed atop a small hill, and sat down onto the snow-covered ground. Though he hadn't had a destination in mind, he liked the vantage point to be able to see the sky. His mouth fell open a bit as he stared upward. There weren't stars like that in Goldenrod. They were bright and shining and, well, beautiful. The teenager sat like that for a long while, still tired but unable to close his eyes.

Another presence made itself known to him as he sat on the hill. His Absol sat down next to him.

"Do I want to know how you left the Pokémon Center?" he asked, interrupting the question with a yawn.

She growled in response, setting her head down on her front legs. His partner seemed to stare up at the sky as well, though the stars were beginning to dim. The color of the sky itself was brightening, if only a little.

He still had no idea what he wanted to do beyond just becoming a Pokémon trainer. A lot of people looked up to Gym Leaders and wanted to be just like them, so maybe he could too. He could become just like his mother. He could set his goal even further, like a member of the Elite Four, or even Champion. He could work with his Pokémon to open a business or create his own profession. He could go into breeding and caretaking and work with Pokémon from around the world. Really, he had no clue.

Pryce had the right idea. Ciel still had more time to figure it out, but if he didn't take the first step, he never would. The pieces were in place. He had a partner Pokémon by his side, school behind him, and a desire to find out what exactly his purpose was.

"Hey, Raven," he said, causing her to perk up. "How would you like to travel around the region with me?" The confidence in the question surprised even him.

She closed her eyes and put her head back down, preferring to sleep rather than humor him with an answer. That was understandable, since it was so late.

"Well, I'm taking you with me. You're the one who wants to be the strongest Pokémon around, right?" he asked.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she growled. A passive one, rather than an aggressive one.

"Would it kill you to be excited? Traveling is going to be a fun ride, and we've both got the opportunity to grow," he told her, before staring out at the brightening sky. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I think it's the right decision."

As the two partners enjoyed the simple presence of each other's company, the sun peeked over the horizon. The newly born rays of sunshine revealed themselves to the world, slowly illuminating the dark world with the coming dawn. Suddenly, Ciel didn't feel so tired.

It was a great day for adventure, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Since this is the first chapter, I'd like to pose a few questions for viewers since this chapter will likely have the most traffic out of the entire story. I really appreciate reviews/comments as a source of positive and constructive feedback, and even if you didn't like the story, I'd appreciate if you could give me a quick comment about what exactly you thought turned you away or why your interest didn't catch.**
> 
> **\- What strengths and weaknesses do you find in my writing style? What specifically do you enjoy/not enjoy?**
> 
> **\- If you have experience with the series but haven't played the Second Generation games (or, in the rare instance where you have no series experience at all), does the story stand well on its own even if you aren't a hardcore fan?**
> 
> **\- If you are never going to read the story again, please tell me why. Though I'm sure some of it has to do with tropes and decisions that are individually hit-or-miss (such as use of Original Characters), I'd still like to know your thoughts on what catches your eye when you read.**
> 
> **Anyways, I hope you enjoy the show!**


	2. Troubled First Step

The lab of Professor Linden Elm was more like a home than a place of research. The interior furnishings made it out to be a study. A nice tan wallpaper, potted plants to create atmosphere, family portraits lining the walls, and a desk with an open computer. The only thing that broke up the impression that it wasn't, in fact, someone's residence was the multiple rows of large incubation tanks in plain view and the large mechanical apparatuses surrounding the Professor's desk.

A boy and a girl were standing in wait in front of the machines. Professor Elm had excused himself to go find something and told them to wait in the main room until he returned.

"Whoa…" The boy''s mouth was open wide, his eyes sparkling with interest at the glass case before him.

Three Poké Balls were nestled in defined indentations on a turntable. The machine they were enclosed by flashed with numerous status lights of varying colors. He could only imagine what they were monitoring. It looked so high tech! As he leaned forward to press his eyes against the glass inside the machine, a voice stopped him.

"Ethan, back away from the machine," Lyra said. "I don't trust you not to break anything. No offense."

Lyra was standing with her arms crossed behind her. She was wearing a large, dome-shaped hat and a pair of overalls a size too big.

He obliged and stepped back from the Poké Balls, spinning on his heel for fun. "No, you're right. I don't trust  _myself_  not to break anything."

"Good to know we still understand each other," she said. "I'm going to find the professor. I don't know what's taking him so long."

Lyra walked off and disappeared behind a collection of bookcases and refrigerated tanks. After hearing a door open and close, he returned his attention to the Poké Ball container. Ethan adjusted his backwards cap, ruffling the large tuft of hair sticking out the hole.

He couldn't decide which one he would choose. The insane, forest-leveling power of the burning Cyndaquil? The powerful jaws and sheer muscle of Totodile? Or, would he side with the unquestioned command of nature through Chikorita?

The laboratory door opened across the room and an awkward-looking man in a disheveled lab coat stepped out. He was holding a small key in his hand. "Hey, sorry that I took so long, I've brought the- why is he drooling on the glass?"

Ethan hadn't realized it himself, but his cheek was squished against the machine. A trail of saliva was slowly working its way down the side of the clean glass. He swore he was just trying to get a better look.

Lyra stepped out from the other room behind him. "I told him to step back. I really did." She sighed and walked up to her friend, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him away.

"Ow! That hurts, you know!" he whined.

"Maybe the pain will teach you a little more impulse control," she said, walking her friend to a chair and pulling him down to a sitting position in the seat beside her. She crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap. Ethan rubbed his ear in pain but straightened up himself. If he wanted a Pokémon, he'd have to be on his best behavior.

Professor Elm pulled out a notebook, flipped through it, scratched out something with a pen, flipped back, then scanned over it again. He finally looked up and tossed the notepad to the side.

"Well, I'm supposed to give you a speech about responsibility or something, but..." He paused. His demeanor was shaky, and his voice repeatedly cracked. "It seems kind of unnecessary. You two are adults, after all."

"At least one of us is," Lyra muttered.

"As part of the Research Outreach program, I have authority to grant you a starter Pokémon when you turn, uhh, eighteen. Sixteen with written recommendation, but that doesn't matter. The condition is that, to ensure proper conduct as you become Pokémon Trainers, you report information back to us—I mean, me—repeatedly," he said. "In all honesty, it's just an excuse to get free field observation work."

Lyra crossed her arms, unimpressed. The professor scratched his head and motioned to the machine.

"So, um," he paused, using the key to unlock the glass case on the machine and slide it open, "take your pick. Fair warning, the Totodile is very aggressive. We've been having problems with it."

Ethan rushed forward from his chair, already having decided which Pokémon he wanted. He wanted unbeatable power. He wanted a fiery and unbreakable determination, a complete control of the elements. But most of all, he wanted…

Ethan pressed the button on the capsule of his choosing and the laboratory room flashed suddenly with a rush of red light. When the beam struck the floor, a glowing form appeared. The colors solidified from neon red to the natural green color of his selected partner Pokémon. Said Pokémon chirped in delight and swung the leaf sprouting on its heads from side to side.

"Why Chikorita?" Lyra and the Professor asked simultaneously.

Ethan turned back to them, a wide smile on his face. He sat down in front of the adolescent Pokémon, and it beamed back at him with matched enthusiasm. "'Cause it's the cutest one."

"Makes no difference to me," Professor Elm said, sitting down at his desk, still shaking. "You didn't, um, need a Pokémon yourself, did you Lyra?"

"No, sir, Professor. I've got my Marill for company. I just came here to babysit my idiot."

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Ethan whined while playing with his new partner. He rubbed the Chikorita's back and massaged its leaf, and it really seemed to be enjoying the physical affection.

"Anything else you need from us, Professor?" Lyra asked.

"Uhh, not that I know of. Your Trainer Cards are registered, I've got the written consent from your parents, and I can get his Chikorita traded to his PC in a few minutes." He turned to his computer, pulling up his own PC account. "The only thing else I need from you kids is some contact about the growth of your Pokémon. Maybe some notes, too. I study evolution. You knew that, right?"

"Evolution? What kind of info are you looking for?" asked Lyra

"Well, the basis of evolution is well documented," he explained. "Pokémon naturally grow in size as they mature by storing surplus nutrients and materials in their bodily tissue. At a certain point, various types of natural stimuli across different species trigger them to spontaneously metabolize all of their excess materials and rearrange their body structure according to latent structure plans for developmental stages encoded in DNA."

The Professor began speaking faster and faster, turning away from his guests as if he was no longer expositing for their sake. "Successive evolutionary forms, according to multiple studies by the University of Olivine South, provide direct advantages to survival and reproduction, so Pokémon are naturally inclined to seek out evolutionary triggers, even if their species cannot naturally evolve and that behavior no longer has selectionary value. Does this mean that species currently unable to evolve were able to do so at a previous point in their development, and could potentially be accessed through genetic modification or select environmental conditions..."

Despite his enjoyment of playing with his partner, Ethan had since looked up from the floor of the laboratory to stare in awe at the Professor. He had yet to take a breath, and his voice was substantially more confident than it had been before. Even the Chikorita was paying attention.

"…studies have been devoted to narrowing down specific evolutionary triggers and whether or not they serve as evidence to the divergent codevelopment of Pokémon and humans from a single form. This could include but is not limited to physical affection, exercise and stimulation through battle, repeated exposure to environments beneficial to daily activities of a Pokémon's type and relatives, a change in diet, a change in temperature, et cetera." The professor pointed upwards, as if making a note to himself. Deep in his thoughts, he had wandered over to face a nearby wall and continued speaking more to himself than anyone else. "Currently, my focus has been on the relationship between simple bonding activities between Pokémon and trainers and their evolutionary potential, as well as the great question of whether or not the human factor is an essential and natural part of many species' existence!"

Professor Elm turned back to the two. He quickly cleared his throat.

"That is to say, err, that your job is to walk with and play with your Pokémon repeatedly and report back to me sometimes on what you find. Yes?"

"Regardless of your, ahem,  _wealth_  of knowledge, isn't it unscientific to ask for information from untrained kids without any proper testing procedures in place?" Lyra questioned.

The man sat at his desk and turned back to his computer. "I just say what the League tells me to. So, you kids have fun."

That was their cue to leave, so Ethan reached down and picked up his new partner under its front limbs, holding the Grass-type Pokémon to his chest. In addition, he shrunk the Poké Ball in its smaller state. The round object's thin panels collapsed cleanly in on themselves to reduce its size by nearly a half to fit in Ethan's pocket. The door shut behind them as the left, and Lyra sighed. She looked at her friend.

"I'm all packed and ready to go. I said goodbye to my parents this morning and I just need to grab my backpack. What about you?"

"Oh, yeah… No, I've  _definitely_  packed already. I'm completely prepared for this," Ethan said.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. However, before she could say anything, and not even a minute after they left the lab, the Professor threw open the door, eyes wide, panicked, and breathing irregularly.

"Help! Someone just stole one of the other Poké Balls! He jumped out the window and ran towards, erm— Route 29!"

Ethan and Lyra looked at each other and nodded in unison. Their adventure could wait. The two Trainers bolted west, Ethan carrying his Chikorita by his chest, hoping they weren't too late to catch the thief. Chikorita squealed with excitement as they ran.

* * *

Dark, expensive jeans.

A worn out, but still fresh t-shirt. It had a graphic design of a Poke Ball, with "future champion" written across it.

Crew socks, high-top sneakers.

Just a tiny bit of hair gel. Just a tad.

With all this, and a duffel bag full of thirteen other sets of clothing and basic essentials, Ciel approached his mother and with resolute confidence, said, "I want to take on the Johto Gym Challenge".

His mother blinked at him. "What?"

"I want to chall- err, take on, go on, the Johto Gym Challenge."

There went the confidence. Her eyes drifted to the bag full of clothing and to his general state of readiness. His partner's Poké Ball was clutched in his left hand.

"Are you completely prepared for this?" she asked.

"Yes." No. "Yes," he repeated, more for himself than her.

Surprisingly, that was all it took. He wished goodbye to his sister, receiving a tight hug and a flow of tears in return, and ignored his father. They also stopped at a general store in Mahogany to collect some basic camping supplies for Ciel to stow away alongside his clothing changes. A few hours later, he and his mother were speeding downstream the mountainside rivers of Route 49. Waves of evergreen trees rushed past them, the smell of kicked up freshwater pervasive.

His mother was sporting her "adventuring wear", consisting of a fine white robe tied at the waist with loose sleeves that came down longer than her arms. The woman looked very much like some folklore snow creature he'd read about before, and though he'd never asked, he chose to believe was intentional.

She stood tall on the shell of her Lapras, holding herself steady with the creature's neck. Meanwhile, Ciel was sitting with his legs stretched out towards the side of the creature, hanging them above the water. He'd stuffed his shoes and socks in his bag to prevent them from getting wet. The beast itself appeared completely relaxed as it continued for hours towards southern Johto, despite the long distance and its three passenger load .

One of those passengers let out an annoyed—and somewhat pained—noise, breaking Ciel's attention from the passing flows of rock.

"Raven, you don't have to be out here with us. I can easily put you in stasis and let you out somewhere where it's easier to rest," he told the Pokémon.

She responded by turning her head the other direction, indicative that she would do as she pleases. Still, he couldn't help feeling bad for her. A nasty bruise showed on her forehead alongside the cut on her side from the flung rock from the Piloswine's Ancient Power.

"Would you like me to give you another potion to numb it a bit?" he asked.

The Pokémon reluctantly positioned herself so the cut was visible to him. He removed a spray bottle from his bag, tore off the spray seal, and applied the numbing agent. "If you're still mad at me for that battle, I understand." Ciel spoke to his partner while treating the cut and stroking her back, the latter action of which she responded more favorably to. "I shouldn't have had you fight an opponent so far out of your league. So, I'm sorry, again."

Ciel was certain she was listening to him, but she either didn't wish to humor him or didn't care entirely. That was fine, he thought. Even if his Absol was angry with him, she still committed herself to his battle against Pryce, and he was thankful for that. If he couldn't make it up to her now, he'd find a way later.

After another hour or so of near-silence, Raven having dozed off behind him, he finally brought up the Donphan in the room.

"So, mom," he began.

She looked down at him, having been staring intently at the rushing waters ahead for a while. "What is it?"

"Why exactly are you letting me do this?"

"Do what?"

"You know," he made a vague gesture to everything around him, " _this._ "

"I've been thinking about it myself, actually. Aside from it being substantially more difficult to travel upstream the Calm Hills River. We can't exactly go back home very easily at the moment." She laughed to herself.

That didn't make Ciel feel any better. He made a face.

"I know I should be concerned, as a mother and as a trainer, about letting you go out into the wild. Especially on such short notice. But…" She trailed off.

"But, what?" he asked.

"But," she began again, staring back at him, "I did the exact same thing. No real planning, I just went. Traveled Johto in a little over a year."

"And grandma and grandpa let you?"

She shrugged. "We didn't concern ourselves much with safety in the 80s."

"Do you think I'm ready for this?"

"You've been training for over a year, you've watched our example for at least a decade, and you took four, maybe five, years of survival classes in school. Is that right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

"And your partner is no slouch either," she said, turning back to the front that pay attention to the water. "Well, probably a slouch. But definitely a naturally talented Pokémon."

"I believe Raven won't let me down, and I'm not going to let her down either," Ciel said.

"Hmph. Then, there's your answer, Ciel. What that matters is if  _you_  think you're ready."

What could he say to that? How could he ever say that he was ready? Like it or not, he was still a kid with no worldly experience to back him, and he was venturing out into a new unknown. There was no certainty. And yet, in the face of his own doubt, all he had to say was, "Yes. I'm ready."

"Besides, in a worst-case scenario, you could just call us to come pick you up and take you home. You could even do that if you get a little homesick. I know I'd love to see my baby boy every once in a while."

Since no one was around, he wasn't embarrassed about being called the nickname. He smiled. "Thanks, mom. It's good to know you're looking out for me."

The world began to flatten, and the calming brown mountains slowly began to be covered by more and more green. The calming brown mountains receded on the horizon behind them. Up ahead, a brilliant forest expanded into the distance, interspersed with grasslands fed by the river delta. It was mid-afternoon, and though the sun was still bright, it was beginning to fall.

As the land flattened, his mother's Lapras picked up speed. As large of a Pokémon as it was, it could really move. If he had to guess, they'd accelerated to 130, maybe 135 kilometers. Even though his mother and the creature's neck were absorbing most of the rushing air, he held on a little tighter to the Pokémon's shell.

Lapras braked itself by thrusting its flippers into the water—they were over shallow enough land that the large creature could reach the bottom. His mother urged her Pokémon towards the shore. They were nearly at their destination already. Nearly eight hours had passed in no time at all.

The two of them stepped unsteadily onto the ground, Raven jumping far ahead into the grass to avoid getting her feet wet. Ciel retrieved his footwear and slipped them on once he touched the grass himself. His mother recalled her Lapras into its Poké Ball and he stood back in wait for his mother to start moving.

"Well?" She gestured into the distance. "What are you waiting for? Adventure awaits."

"Oh. Right." He took his step forward and kept walking, hopefully in the direction of New Bark Town. His mother and his partner followed.

The final leg of their trip down the mountain was the briefest. A town's quiet bustle was evident soon after they let off from the river, with the distinct sound of windmills turning in the distance. Trees thickened into a forest for just a moment, before opening up again. Dirt became pavement. Their destination was upon them.

An anxiety-ridden man in the lab coat made it seem like New Bark was in chaos. He was frantically pacing out front of the closest building to the town's northern border, whispering to himself and shouting about incoherent things. He noticed a few townspeople milling about by adjacent houses. One, a middle-aged woman, was holding a hose to water her garden while staring with a raised eyebrow and a baffled expression at the man and the new arrivals. Ciel just shrugged, unsure what to tell her.

His mother put a hand on her hip. "Don't worry. He's just like this." She approached the man. "Excuse me."

Her call for his attention completely escaped him and he continued his nonsensical rambling. At one point, he turned towards the house and stood in front of the door, rattling off statements to himself, sometimes multiple times. All that Ciel could make out was "thief", "foul play", and "lose my job". The last one was repeated more than the others.

"Excuse me? Professor?" She tried to capture his attention again, to no avail. His mother waved her arms.

He planted his feet firmly in the ground and bent over, hands over his head. The man looked devastated, broken. The muttering continued.

" _Linden!_ " His mother shouted.

He spun around in an instant. "Please don't fire me! It took me fifteen years and three dissertations, I'm qualified, I swear!"

The woman leveled her gaze at him. He blinked one, twice. "Oh. Kori. You're not here to formally remove me from my rightfully earned local research position over a minor incident, right?" His speech accelerated as he spoke until his words blurred into incoherent jargon.

"No, Linden. Calm down. What's happening?"

"Oh, nothing much. It's just that my world is falling apart because one of my League-certified and carefully-bred starter Pokémon granted to me by higher-ups at Indigo was stolen. And I've sent two kids to get it back because I'm an  _idiot_." It was visibly apparent how horribly he was holding his entire self together.

"That's awful. How did this happen?" She asked.

The man stared at her with lifeless brown eyes. His face drained to a pale hue. "I don't know. I don't know. I just know that some kid took my Totodile and he jumped out the window and he went that way and that my life is over." After pointing briefly in a vague direction, Professor Elm sank to the ground, curling in on himself. He sobbed. "I've let Samuel down."

"Your life isn't over, Linden. Calm down," her mother said. She rolled her eyes. "Ciel, do you mind heading off towards Route 29 to see if you can find anything? We need to help."

He spared an eye at the Professor, who was now curled up in a fetal position. He'd rather look for the thief than attempt to fix  _that_  mess. "Raven, are you ready?" He asked his partner.

His Absol, who'd been lying down on the pavement in the sun, stood slowly and walked over by his side. The two shared a glance, before heading off in the direction of Route 29. He wasn't expecting to start with trouble, but if it got him going, he had no reservations.

* * *

Their footfalls crunched loudly and repeatedly over sticks and months-old dead leaves littering the underbrush of Route 29. A strong dirt smell pervaded through the forest, immersing Lyra in the natural mood of Johto's wildlife. Every so often, an Apricorn tree passed by, dotted brightly with their hard, colored fruit.

A large part of her wanted to stop and smell the figurative roses. She had expected to be able to savor the feeling of freedom as they begun trekking through the wilderness. Hiking in the days, camping out at night, spending time with their respective Pokémon, she wanted to sink right into nature itself.

She was annoyed, then, to find herself having to continually pick up her pace, rushing full speed through the forest. A low-hanging branch approached quickly, and she leaped gracefully over, landing one foot in front of the other without losing any momentum. She couldn't waste any time if they were right behind the thief. After all, they had left almost immediately after he had broken into the Professor's lab, right? And, it was unlikely that he'd have anywhere to go but straight across the path of the route towards the city of Cherrygrove. There weren't really any other noteworthy places for him to go, and the trees thickened immensely the further from the primary route path.

She couldn't think about the possibility that she was going the wrong direction entirely and that this may be a complete waste of time. The Professor was counting on them.

"Ow! Agh! Thorns! Hold up, would you?" Ethan called from behind her.

Unfortunately,  _someone_  may not have gotten the memo. She turned her head, seeing her friend lagging behind. His newly-owned Chikorita was clutched to his chest and seemed to be enjoying its trainer's bouncing. The creature bobbed its head back and forth, its leaf swaying around and smacking across Ethan's face. He blew at the leaf, trying to push it away. Ethan himself was keeping alright pace but had tripped over the branch she had just cleared.

"Seriously, Lyra. I can't run that fast while holding this adorable baby!" He held the Chikorita out with both arms as he ran, mimicking the opening scene to that one movie the two of them watched over and over as kids. It released a sound that could best be described as a "squee", obviously having the time of its life.

"Put it back in its Poké Ball, then!" She shouted, powering the muscles in her legs to run faster.

"What kind of parent would I be, then? I can't shelter my children forever!"

"You're not a… what do you mean 'forever?' You've only had it for five-" she cut herself off. She didn't even know why she bothered, he was impossible half of the time. "Just keep up. I think I see someone."

She pulled to a stop as the trees opened, creating a small clearing where stood a boy in dark clothing, mostly blue. He wore a navy jacket with a red trim, the secondary color matching the striking hue of his hair. Whoever he was, he was heavily out of breath, bent over with his hands on his knees. He looked up at them and his eyes widened. With a double-take, the guy rushed away, intent on disappearing further into the forest.

However, his escape was short-lived. His foot caught on a tree root. He toppled over. Hard.

Lyra, panting heavily and out of breath, managed a laugh. "You're the thief? That's a bit sad."

A fist slammed to the ground, and his head slowly turned back towards them from the forest floor. Covering it was an intense scowl—one that could easily kill a person. He slowly stood up, reaching suspiciously into his pocket.

"Give us back the Pokémon, guy," Ethan told him.

The boy turned around suddenly and threw an item from his hand. The missing Poké Ball soared across the gap, before it popped open in a sudden flash that illuminated the underbrush of the forest. The momentum of the capsule carried into the monster it unleashed, sending Professor Elm's Totodile through the air, directly at the two, with its jaws gaping wide.

Lyra lunged to the side to avoid the oncoming attack, and Ethan did the same by falling unceremoniously onto his rear with his Chikorita in his arms. The reptilian Pokémon landed past them on the ground, turning back at the two and snapping its jaws at them. It looked angry and stressed, even though it had just been released. That must be the "problem" the Professor mentioned.

"Totodile, use Bite!" the thief commanded.

"Ethan, I don't have my Marill with me. Do something!" She shouted, stepping back to avoid the short, but dangerously toothed creature as it clamped down on open air.

"Alright, little buddy, you're up," he said to his new partner, before setting it on the ground. "Use Tackle!"

She could feel her breath hitch in her throat as she narrowly pulled her foot away from the Totodile's jaws. However, she was given a bit of relief as the green body of Ethan's own Pokémon knocked her aggressor off its feet. The thief's combatant rolled into the base of a tree.

"Call off the Pokémon, thief," she ordered the boy.

"Not until you leave me the hell alone," he growled. "Totodile, get up! Get up!" She couldn't help but wince at his tone. It was angry. Malicious. Just who was this kid to act like this, let alone steal a Pokémon? He seemed disturbed. Scared, even.

"Alright, Chikorita, use, uhh," he paused. "Lyra, what else does Chikorita know?"

"Really, Ethan? Try Razor Leaf," she told him.

"Right! Chikorita, Razor Leaf!" her friend ordered, voice full of determination.

The small Pokémon's leaf crown shined a brilliant green hue. It swung its head forward, the appendage following the movement of its head like hair, snapping forward at the opponent, releasing the energy in a small crescent that crossed the distance towards the Totodile.

Lyra watched in amazement at the display. Realistically, Chikorita shouldn't be able to know Razor Leaf until it had proper training to use energy-based attacks. She'd only recommended it because it was the first move she could remember off the top of her head.

The thief's Totodile had just barely recovered from being barreled into the tree when it was struck across the face. The impact was larger than anticipated, and it was thrown to the ground. This time, it didn't get up.

Her friend's face lit up. "Wait, did I do it? I did! We won our very first Pokémon battle, Chikorita!" Ethan was completely ecstatic and rushed over to scoop up his partner into his arms and twirl around. His partner had almost as much enthusiasm as he did. It was proud of itself.

His celebration was cut short as the thief walked up to him with that same deathly scowl. As Ethan turned to him, a fist met his face. The boy's arm powered right through him with a striking punch. Her friend dropped to the ground, losing grip on his partner Pokémon.

"Ethan!" Lyra called out in concern as she quickly curled an arm under him to prevent him from hitting the forest. He was unresponsive, as if still processing the pain, but he did let out a small groan. She felt nothing but anger now, glaring at the thief while still holding the other trainer.

The navy-clad thief put his hands in his pockets and walked over to the knocked-out Totodile. His form loomed ominously over the unconscious Pokémon. The boy extended a leg and struck the creature that had fought for him, accompanied by the sickeningly dull sound of his sneaker hitting flesh.

"I can't believe you're so fucking weak! Useless pile of garbage!" he roared at the Totodile. The delinquent retrieved the Pokémon's Poké Ball, recalled the creature back into the PC, and walked off into the forest.

Lyra could only watch in horror as he disappeared into the trees. The need to be beside her friend prevented her from chasing after him. Lyra turned down to Ethan, who already had a bruise forming on his face.

"Are you okay, Ethan?" She asked, concerned.

"Is Chikorita okay? I dropped her really hard. And yeah, I'm fine. I think," he said, shakily and with another groan.

Her? The Pokémon was sitting on the ground next to them, unharmed. She looked concerned for Ethan, scooting up close to see.

"She's not hurt. But the thief, he got away. I should have chased after him."

"No, don't worry about it. Thanks for, uhh, holding me." Ethan sat up after groaning a third time. He averted his gaze, clearly embarrassed.

"I just watched him kick his Pokémon, Ethan. We need to find him."

"Yeah, we do. But, I need a bit. Maybe a lot of bits."

Another rustling caught Lyra's attention, and she looked up through the forest. Another boy was standing there, not the thief who had previously run off but someone else. He had blond hair and simple casual clothes and following him was a Pokémon she didn't recognize. Lyra and he locked eyes. Ethan also turned his head to the newcomer, his bruise visibly making his face purple.

"So," the boy started, looking them over, "did you find the thief?"

* * *

By the time the three trainers had returned to the lab, the sun was steadily falling to late afternoon. Ciel was somewhat annoyed that the thief had already disappeared and that he had gone into the forest for basically nothing. Raven wasn't taking it very well either and seemed grumpy herself. Maybe she was lamenting not being able to battle again, since she was sitting on a loss. He knew how much she liked to prove herself.

As they walked, he learned the two trainers' names. Ethan and Lyra. Apparently, they were childhood friends. Lyra, the girl in the poofy summerly clothes, did most of the talking, because Ethan appeared to have not had a good time when they caught up to the Pokémon thief. The trio pushed open the door to the lab, where his mother and Professor Elm were sitting, the former talking to the latter as if it was a therapy session.

"Hey Mom, we're back," Ciel announced.

The Professor bounded inhumanly fast from his chair to directly in front of them, his eyes wide and bloodshot. Had he been crying? His speech was erratic and breathless. "Did you catch the thief? Where is my Pokémon? Where is it?"

The three teenagers looked between each other, not wanting to be the one to break the news. "We don't have it," Lyra finally said, shaking her head at the floor.

The man walked over to his desk and slammed his head down, letting out a painful and pathetic noise. No one in the room said anything, all equally disappointed at the lack of a happy ending.

"But," the girl continued, "we do have this." She held up a small rectangular item, a card with the thief's face plastered over it. Next to it, his name was displayed. Silver Sakaki.

"You found his Trainer Card?" The woman asked.

"He apparently dropped it when Ethan and Lyra fought him," Ciel said, recounting what the two friends had told him on the way back.

"Hopefully, we can use this to ask around if anyone has seen him." Lyra tried to take the situation positively. She stashed away the card in her pocket. "It's not much, but it's a start."

"I'm just glad you tried, kids," Ciel's mother said. "Sorry he had to bother you with this."

"Oh, it's no problem, miss," Lyra told her. "Anyways, Professor, we're going to continue to look for him. You're a family friend, so I owe it to you to try."

All any of them heard was a sobbed, whispered phrase. "I'm going to lose my job."

"Ugh. I need to rest first. And I still need to pack. We can do that tomorrow," Ethan complained.

"I'm with him," Lyra said. "We'll keep after him, Professor, and hopefully we'll get your Pokémon back. See you later, Ciel." The girl waved him goodbye, her friend supplying his own half-hearted goodbye, before the two promptly left the lab. The door closed behind them, leaving only him, his mother, and a sobbing Professor.

His mother looked at him. "What about you, honey?"

"I've got my sleeping bag and dried food. I think Raven and I are going to try to make it to Cherrygrove."

She nodded and stood up. His mother walked over to him and suddenly embraced him in a tight hug. "Please, take care of yourself. It'll be a long trip."

The trainer smiled, returning the hug. "I will, mom. Raven will look after me as well."

"If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to call. I'll wire some money to your PC account when I get the chance, so you can get more supplies once you reach Cherrygrove."

"Thank you, Mom. I love you."

She hugged him tighter. "I love you too," she said, before abruptly letting go.

"How are you going to get home?" he asked.

"I'll figure it out," she responded with a laugh. "Besides, someone needs to check the damage with the Professor here." She directed towards the sobbing man at his desk.

Ciel laughed himself, and with goodbyes in order, he made for the door. However, he was stopped when his mother had one more thing to say.

"Oh, and Ciel, the Professor had something to give you. You don't really have a choice anymore due to the chaos today, but I'm sure it'll suit you."

A Poké Ball was lobbed in his direction, and he extended his arms to catch it. It slipped from his grasp, and he gasped while he juggled the object before securing it with both hands. Checking its back, the word "CYNDAQUIL" was displayed on the small, unlit information screen. He looked up to his mother, who said nothing, but gave him a knowing smirk.

Ciel returned the gesture. He gave his mother one last wave, before he and Raven exited the Professor Elm's lab into the streets of New Bark Town. Despite the craziness, he was still ready to begin. Raven was too, judging by her strange amount of energy at this time of day. Though it was going to be evening soon, he figured that they still had a few solid hours to make pace through Route 29. Maybe they could reach Cherrygrove by the next day!

"Okay, Raven," he announced. "Let's try this again."

The two partners turned towards Route 29, ready to truly begin their journey. Ciel gripped the new Poké Ball tightly in his hand. If he wasn't confident before, they now had help from one more, and it was one more friend he could hopefully get to know and rely on. Everything was in place, now all he needed to do was take the first step.

He took that step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And now we begin the awful horror of me attempting to juggle multiple perspectives. Some chapters will have many different scenes, some will have very few. Third-person limited is both a blessing and a curse sometimes.**
> 
> **Please leave a review about any feedback you have for this story, positive or negative. I'm always excited to get feedback and any at all constructive comments are useful to help my writing improve.**
> 
> **I'll see you next time for Chapter 3: A Proper Adventure!**


	3. A Proper Adventure

When mom hung up the phone, Ciel knew it was going to be one of  _those_  nights. He could see the defeat on his mother's face—the distant shouts from the landline made it clear too. And, as he had come to learn, the later his father came home, the worse it got.

 _Those_  nights involved lots of yelling. Lots of empty bottles. Lots of hiding with Laina in his room, hoping that his father wouldn't extend his problems to them as well. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.

It was always the same story, and for some reason his mom thought it was okay. The League had reduced his salary. The League forced him to work overtime. The League did this, the League did that. The League, League, League, League, League. It was always the League's fault, and it was non-stop since his father had gotten his shiny new job a few years ago.

His father had never hit Mom, as far as Ciel knew. He'd never hit him, either, but he'd been on the receiving end of too many slurred rants. However, what made his blood boil was knowing, and having seen in plain view, that his father struck his sister.

Nothing else before had ever made him so angry, so completely enraged. He screamed, he hit back, and more than anything, he cried. A ten-year-old shouldn't cry, they were too old for that. But he still cried, and Mom just consoled him and said that he had a rough day with  _the League_. Like that meant anything.

An inquisitive noise got Ciel's attention. Raven was looking up at him, seeming somewhat concerned. The Trainer realized that he'd been staring off into space for a while, so he was glad that someone had pulled him out of it.

"Sorry about that, Raven. I was thinking about something," he said.

The hike had gone well so far. But, he felt it was more boring than it was always made out to be. What ever happened to the leagues of other trainers around the corner, just watching and waiting for you to make eye contact to drag you into a battle against your will? Television made life seem much more exciting.

The two hadn't really even encountered any wild Pokémon, either. A Sentret had crossed their path before it darted away, and Pidgeys were periodically perched in trees they passed under, but nothing disturbed the partners from their trudge forward. It was late evening and more Pokémon should have been out than ever, but it was quiet.

Every so often, such as it had at the beginning of the hike, the route path would suddenly disappear, nearly entirely. Faint traces of a cleared trail would remain on the forest floor, but it was nearly overgrown. Navigating became difficult, so he came to rely on Raven's keener senses. Though they never shared any actual communication, they soon fell into a rut where she took the lead when the forest thickened, and he took charge along the path.

Ciel stopped in front of a low-lying tree that caught his eye, adorned with bright green, rounded fruit. He thought they looked really pretty and unfortunately very tasty. He hadn't eaten since the morning. In hindsight, he and Raven should have stopped for something in New Bark Town.

Raven had wandered ahead, but turned around upon realizing that her partner had stopped. The Absol approached the tree as well, curiously sniffing at the green bulbs.

"They're apricorns," he explained to Raven. "You shouldn't bite them. I chipped my tooth when I was a kid when I didn't know any better."

Raven hesitantly licked the fruit and then proceeded to completely ignore him. She chomped down on the surface of one of the apricorns, only to recoil as the solid fruit reflected her bite. Her mouth hung open, teeth in pain.

"Told you so." He laughed, earning a growl from the irritated feline Pokémon. "I don't even know why you'd want to eat them. You're a carnivore."

She growled and huffed. He snickered. She growled more.

Ciel opened the duffle bag he was carrying and carefully picked two of the large fruit off of the tree at their stems. Picking too many would kill an apricorn Tree for whatever reason. Most Pokémon would give up after trying like Raven did, so it was just humans who had to be careful to maintain them. The fruits might still be useful, especially to make some juice if they ever got the chance, so he stuffed then away and zipped the bag up. The two continued on their way.

The sun slowly descended, casting shadows over the forest the further and further it slipped down the horizon. Darkened trees faded further into the night until their green wasn't even visible anymore. Ciel could hear the distant sounds of Noctowl hoots. Still, the two kept forward for a couple of hours, hoping to make as much progress towards Cherrygrove as they could. The only navigation he had to go by was the vague pathway cleared through the trees that constituted Route 29, and sparse signs that occurred every kilometer.

Daylight had completely disappeared by the time Ciel decided that his legs couldn't take it any more and sat down in the grass. Really, what finally made him rest for the day was the appearance of a large rectangular building within the sea of trees. Lights shone brightly from within and it was paneled with windows all around.

"This must be one of those Route gates," he said as he came to a halt. "We should stop here for the night."

Raven immediately dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball. She borrowed her head into her front legs, intent on sleeping. Ciel cast judgement at his partner, an annoyed expression on his face even though she wouldn't look up to be able to see it.

"That was fast. Don't you at least want to go inside the nice building?"

The Absol stood from her position, stretched, and then faced away from him. After another stretch and a paw lick, she laid back down.

"Too much work, huh?"

She didn't respond, and that was his cue that he didn't really have a choice. Though, he did vaguely consider recalling her into her Poké Ball and getting some sleep under the nice, convenient, easily-available, and not-at-all-far shelter that was right next to them, Raven was apparently the leader. The trainer sighed and sat down on the ground, setting the duffle bag in front of him.

First, the tent. It wasn't very large, since it was meant for single use and it was the cheapest item they could find at a whim at the general goods store in Mahogany. Still, it would do enough of a job until he could get to the next city, so he began to set it up.

That proved difficult. There were so many pieces. This pole went here, this one went there. These two have to connect simultaneously on opposite sides of the assembly. He stared over the instructions for a while, before forgetting about them because they made little sense and the contrast on the printed images was too low to see correctly. He eventually sorted the basic idea of the supports and wrapped the canopy around them with velcro straps, so at least he had a place to stay. He threw his sleeping bag inside and zipped it up.

He then moved to set up the fire, using a small bag of dried firewood, which he supplemented with twigs lying around the site they'd settled at. He'd made sure to set the wood over dirt, rather than grass, and even managed to find enough spare rocks to create what vaguely resembled a fire pit.. However, while rummaging through the bag, he realized that they didn't have any matches. Or a lighter. Or a chunk of magnesium. As annoyed as he should be that they had forgotten to bring something, he was more confused as to  _how_  they had forgotten.

An idea dawned on him, though, and he reached into his pocket to retrieve the capsule given to him when he left New Bark Town. Ciel rolled it around in his hands. Inside was the first piece to building his team, his group of friends that would help and support him, and he them. For some reason, the trainer hesitated to open the Poké Ball, simply examining it in his hands. Eventually, he tapped the button and the Pokémon was released.

It squeaked. An excited, mammalian creature searched inquisitively around the campsite. Its eyes were hardly opened, but Ciel knew it wasn't a newborn. It's underside was patterned with tan fur, while a thicker coating of green-blue trailed it's upper snout, head, and back.

Also, it was on fire. It was  _really_  on fire.

Ciel scooted back from the Cyndaquil, as its back flame sacs were spewing at full blast. He could feel the heat radiating around them, and Raven seemed bothered enough to move a few feet away before continuing to try to sleep. What a great help she was.

"Hey, little guy, do you mind turning that off?" He pleaded through the wave of heat being expelled from the small Pokémon. "You're going to cook us."

"Ciel only felt the heat intensify as the Cyndaquil walked up to him, patting its legs excited. It acted like a canine Pokémon happy to receive physical affection. "Oh, man," he said, worriedly, as the newcomer approached him. It nuzzled its snout against his leg. His leg was burning. He could appreciate loving contact, but not when his skin was at stake.

"Stop!" he shouted, and the fire abruptly ceased. The sudden sensation of cool washing over him made him sigh in relief.

Ciel leaned forward slowly and stared at his new Pokémon, face-to-face. "You're pretty excitable, huh?

The Pokémon hopped up and down, tapping its long snout to Ciel's own nose. His back flared up again, forcing Ciel to make a motion for the creature to calm down. It seemed pretty responsive to him, which would make sense if it would personally raised by Professor Elm. When he first met Raven, Ciel needed to attend professional language training before she could properly understand him. It was a hassle.

"Okay, Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil... " He paused. "You'll need a nickname sometime. Something to differentiate yourself, you know?"

Cyndaquil hopped and ignited once again. Ciel needed to keep a fire blanket on him, or something.

He turned his attention to the hastily-assembled pile of firewood and kindling in the middle of the circle of stones. Ciel jerked his thumb in that direction. "Use Ember," he said.

His Cyndaquil scurried over to the fire pit and examined the pile of wood with its snout, sniffing at the dry material until it decided it was satisfactory. Then, it sneezed. A burst of flame washed over the assembled firewood and it caught. The Cyndaquil stared at the fire and looked very proud of its handiwork.

Satisfied that they were set up for the night, Ciel made himself comfortable by the fire and retrieved the food he and his mother had bought. He had three packages of jerky, one of which was nearly empty from the previous hours of hiking, and three of assorted dried fruit that he'd only barely touched so far. He dumped a bit of both into his hand and offered it to his new friend.

He grinned as he felt the creature's tongue brush his hand while it ate. He found it thrilling to meet and interact with the new Pokémon, even more so that the Cyndaquil had taken an immediate liking to him. It was certainly easier than getting to know a human stranger. Though, it would be quite a while before he truly knew what the fiery creature was like. That was true for meeting anyone.

Ciel retrieved the Poké Ball again and checked its status screen, or tried to. He had to hold it up to the fire to be able to see it, since it didn't have a light. Next to the name "CYNDAQUIL", a small male symbol was tucked in the corner. So, his Cyndaquil was male.

"What kind of nickname should you have?" He asked himself. Neither of his Pokémon responded anyway, as Raven was already out cold and the newcomer was enjoying the bits of food. "Something related to fire? How about Flint?"

He thought for a moment. No, Flint was a terrible name. He felt bad for anyone named Flint. What an awful sounding name. Flint. Bleh.

Blaze? Phoenix? "No, those are too edgy," he said, completing his thought aloud. Ciel's eyes drifted over to the asleep Raven. He already had one Pokémon named exactly how a thirteen-year-old would name them. The trainer took a bite of the beef jerky while thinking.

Suddenly, he had a bout of insight, and turned to the Cyndaquil. "Hey, buddy, do you like the name Arden?"

The Pokémon looked up from his party eaten food and stared at him. He tilted his head from side to side, which Ciel believed was the creature considering the name.

"It's not exactly fire-related," he started, "but it sounds like a nice name. And it might distantly mean something in another language. I don't know."

The Pokémon didn't need any more convincing and ignited in excitement once again. The happy squeaks told Ciel all he needed to know. Arden it is, he thought.

"Well, time for bed, you two. Or, one," he corrected, realizing that his partner was already asleep. He considered returning Arden to his Poké Ball, but it didn't look like it was going to rain, and he vaguely remembered that trainers are supposed to let Pokémon sleep regularly based on how often they are active outside of stasis, or something like that. He bid goodnight to his team, though he left the simmering fire going to ward off any curious wild Pokémon.

He settled into his tent for the night and tucked into the sleeping bag. It was much warmer down south than it was in Mahogany, or even how it usually was that time of year in Goldenrod, and he actually found it uncomfortable. After a while, he decided to lay overtop the bag, put his hands behind his head, and sighed.

Really, Ciel couldn't believe how much he enjoyed his first day. Though it wasn't exactly eventful, just the thought of being out on his own adventure made him happy, and he was able to spend time with his Pokémon. That always counts for something. He couldn't wait for the next day.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought about nothing but how much he wanted to continue.

* * *

The wind was blowing. Wind always blew through New Bark. It was something Ethan cherished for all the years living in the town—the air was always fresh and there were always new faces coming and going. The town was almost synonymous with trainers passing through to find their calling.

Sure, it was the home of Professor Elm's lab, so that made it the only logical place for many people to begin their travels through the Johto region. But, he liked to believe it was the town itself that brought people there to begin their rite of passage into a new life. It gave them a sense of direction and pushed them forward, air at their back. The wind blows west, and that's where they go.

Ethan ran his hand along the crisp yet rotting sign in the town square. A collection of plants had overtaken the sign's post and covered the wood in the colorful burst of their blooming flowers. Most of them were marigolds, shining a color befitting their name. His fingernail traced the ridges of the sign above. Winds of a New Beginning. Winds of a New Beginning. Winds of a New Beginning. He read it over and over in his head. Maybe he stared a little too long.

A chirp to his left caused him to turn to his Chikorita looking up at him. "Oh, yeah, we've got to go meet Lyra, don't we?" he asked, scratching his head in embarrassment. For a moment, his eyes lingered on the beautiful flowers, and then back to his partner.

The fledgeling trainer turned around from the sign, a wide grin plastered over his face. He carried that grin through the sparse rural streets of New Bark, listening for the wind and the omnipresent quiet rotor sound. He thought he should more anxious about leaving home for a long time, maybe forever if he decided to go somewhere else, and then somewhere else. An adventure doesn't end until you let it, he knew.

As the meeting place came into view and he noticed his best friend's face, he realized at least a part of the reason why he was feeling so good. Ethan wasn't leaving  _everything_  behind.

"Hey! You're late, you know!" Lyra called out, hands cupped around her mouth for distance and legs crossed on the old bench.

"Sorry about that!" He waved and continued smiling as he broke into a jog to cross the remaining distance. His Chikorita followed his pace delightfully, swaying her leaf in the constant wind. He was absolutely bursting with energy, and he picked up speed until he had broken out into a full-on sprint across the square. He wanted to go, and nothing could stop him.

He did trip over a root and break his fall with his head on the way there, but that did nothing to deter him. Not even the headache.

Lyra rushed over to check if he was okay, flipping him onto his back. "Ah, there he is. You were acting strangely respectable and I was wondering where the real Ethan had gone."

He flipped over onto his back and stared up at the bright sky. Luckily, a cloud was blocking the sun, so he could stare straight up at the midday blue and revel in its glory. "Just feeling a little sentimental. Don't worry, your normally scheduling programming will come right back." He laughed through his own joke.

"Yeah, yeah," she brushed it off, though she chuckled a bit. "I was going to ask how your black eye was feeling, but you've added another problem."

"Well, I can't feel the black eye now, can I? I'd say it's doing good." Really, the throbbing in his head was immense. He was concerned.

She said nothing, but stared up at the sky with him. Despite the pain in his head and the lingering sting from getting socked something fierce, he was still feeling okay. Alright. Great. Excellent. He was so excited! His Chikorita jumped into his lap and curled up, so he brought up a hand to gently stroke his partner's back.

He leaned his head back and found himself meetings his friend's eyes. The reflection of the morning sun off of her face looking like a painting, colors blurring together through his squinted eyes. It put the stupid grin right back onto his face. He'd get to spend the next six months, eight months, however long with the girl he was closest to and he'd enjoy every second of it. Ethan wanted to live life fully, and what better way did he have to do that than with Lyra?

Any normal person would have been embarrassed when caught staring, complete with a smile from ear-to-ear, but he just beamed in the face of the girl's furrowed brow. "Hey."

She sighed, jokingly. "Hello, Ethan. Are you ready to get going?"

"Readier than anyone has ever been ready before," he said, proudly.

Lyra pulled an object out of her pocket and stared at it. It was the same trainer card than had been dropped by the boy in the woods. Silver was his name, Ethan recalled. What a weird name. He really needed to find that guy and give him a piece of his mind, if not for his own sake than for that Totodile's sake. Hopefully, they'd be able to take back the Pokémon and return it to the professor.

"Do you think we'll find that guy? He could be long gone by now," he said.

"I'm not sure. At least we can say we gave it a fair try. I hope Totodile is okay." She seemed saddened a moment, but moved to change the subject. "Are you completely sure you have everything packed?"

He nodded. "I'm all set. Clothes, food, camping stuff, food, food, and at least three important items inevitably missing." He continued through a disappointed glare. "And, Marigold is ready, too."

He watched in amusement as Lyra blinked, and then looked confusedly around in multiple directions, before she returned to glaring at him with confusion. "Marigold?"

"Yeah, Marigold." Carefully, he lifted the Chikorita off of his lap, holding her up to the sun. Under his palms, he could nearly feel his partner's own eagerness to get out into the world and live life. "It's a good name, isn't it?" he asked her. A delighted chirp told him all that he needed to know.

"How'd you think of 'Marigold'?" Lyra questioned.

"Oh, umm, I saw some marigold flowers on the way over here. By the town sign."

She didn't say anything for a long while. He thought at first that she hadn't heard him and that he'd have to repeat himself, but his friend the burst out laughing, and fell over. The two lifelong friends lied side-by-side, sprawled out in the grass and dirt of New Bark Town. Neither of them would see the face of the windy hamlet for a long time, so he reasoned that they could stay there a little while longer. Just to let the memory soak in.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Lyra asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm aware."

"Just so we're clear."

Minutes passed as morning rose into the sky, yet the two of them hadn't moved. Marigold had gone to sleep on Ethan's lap, and he didn't want to disturb her rest. It would help her be energized when they got to hiking. So, they didn't leave for a while.

"Hey, Lyra?" Ethan asked.

"What is it?" she asked in return.

"I really do need some ice, or something. I might actually have a concussion." He paused. "I'm serious."

"You're an idiot."

They definitely didn't leave for a while.

* * *

Ciel groaned. He didn't want to continue.

Why didn't anyone tell him his legs were going to be so sore? It sucked. It really sucked. They were burning and numb at the same time. Even worse, the strap of the duffle bag was starting to dig into his shoulder, so much so that he had to switch the shoulder it was resting on every twenty minutes. Is this what walking for eight hours straight does to a person? Why hadn't he realized it before?

Ciel trudged along through the forest. How far had he traveled? He had to be almost there. He had to be. Conveniently, the route gave him a sign within twenty minutes of asking that question.

"One-hundred sixty kilometers to Cherrygrove?! Are you kidding me?" He groaned heavily, and slunk back to the ground. "That's almost…" he counted on his fingers, assuming they went thirty or so the day prior and would go further each successive day, "...four days."

The sign also listed a town called Catallia vering off from the right of the path where the trees parted slightly, but it was 35 kilometers from that point. He had no idea what town that was and he'd never seen it on a map, and it was just time away from reaching Cherrygrove. There was no point.

He released another long, drawn out groan. He was not ready for this at all. Why was it traditional to take on the Gym Challenge on foot? What had vehicles done to deserve this neglect?

Still, he pushed forward through the forest path with Raven in tow. The Absol was doing much better than him due to her natural physiology and muscle structure, or at least he assumed so, and it was making him jealous. He'd trade his aching thighs and calves for Pokémon legs if it would make this trip any less painful. It provided a strangely useful distraction to imagine the different legs he could steal as the partners continued their hike.

Nothing occurred for the remainder of the day, from sunrise to sundown. They had walked about fourteen hours before Ciel decided he could walk no longer and set up for the night again. He took them away from the path where it led to a small clearing, since he reasoned that he shouldn't be in the way of any other Trainers passing through.

It was sizeable enough, though the opening in the tree canopy meant that grasses were growing high and a fire wouldn't be advisable. They could go without for a night, probably. However, he was interrupted in the process of pitching the tent by a sudden cooing sound. The trainer dropped the tent and turned his head reflexively in the direction of the noise.

A Hoothoot? The bird Pokémon was sitting on a low-lying tree branch, boring into them with its bright red eyes. The round discs shined as if curiously observing them, the creature turned its head from side to side, which amounts to its entire round body swaying on the anchor point of its foot. Feet.

Raven stepped in front of him and issued a challenge at the wild Pokémon, growling savagely. The defense was somewhat unnecessary. It was a Hoothoot. What was it going to do?

"Uhh, shoo," he told the Pokémon, tiredly, and turned back to the tent. "I'm doing something here."

It cooed at him. He flicked his hand at him in a "go away" gesture.

He barely had time to react before the Hoothoot let out a piercing screech and launched itself right at his head, claws outstretched. The Pokémon's claws raked across his face and head and he yelped in pain, trying to swat away the bird with his arms. It hooted angrily and continued its onslaught. "Agh! Get it off of me, Raven!"

Out of the corner of his eye, in the midst of the flash of feathers and sharp appendages, he could barely spy Raven sitting calmly nearby. Her features were snide. She would laugh at him if she had the physical ability to do so.

"I get it! Ow! I shouldn't- ow! I shouldn't have provoked it. Now help me!" he complained.

His partner tackled the creature out of the air. Ciel threw himself out of the way of the battle and prepared to command as best as he could with the warm feeling of blood streaming down the side of his head.

"Raven, use Slash!"

His partner followed through with her attack, swinging her horn around to strike the grounded bird in its side. The opponent toppled to the side and flew backwards, flapping its wings to carry itself into a nearby tree as a vantage point. A cut was evident across its left wing, but it didn't seem slowed by the injury. After releasing a second screech, it once again launched itself from the tree and dove downwards, beak bared forward.

"Dodge it!" he called.

Raven dove away from the oncoming bird missile and skidded into the grass. She bared her teeth, her claws, and angled her horn to face her opponent for optimal battle position. The wild Hoothoot flapped its wings and gained altitude, before turning mid-air and spiraling into a second dive directly towards her.

This thing is relentless, he thought. He had to slow it down somehow. "Meet it with Quick Attack," Ciel shouted from his vantage point near the incomplete campsite.

His partner flashed forward and struck the oncoming small bird with a lunge from her claw, quickly but without much muscle power. The clash of beak and claw sounded an uncomfortable scraping noise. The bird redirected itself and raised back into the sky to dive again, making it clear it wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

As the wild Pokémon flew back again, he tried a different move. "Bite!"

In retrospect, he probably should have specified how she use the move, and she seemed to hesitate for too long as the bird shot for her once again. Raven stood her ground, lowering herself defensively in preparation of the oncoming charge. Wings flapping echoed through the late evening forest. The offensive peck seemed all but assured to land its mark.

With surprising adeptness, Raven sidestepped the pass and bit down—hard—on the Hoothoot's wing, abruptly canceling its momentum and pulling to the ground. She immediately let go of the bite as the agitated intruder crashed. It was releasing whimpering sounds into the forest. It made him wince. Though he didn't tell her to do so, Raven began to slowly approach the downed wild, ready to pounce.

"Stop, Raven," he said. "You won."

His Absol ignored him. She naturally stalked the downed prey, her claws fully extended, her horn at the ready.

"I said stop, Raven," he warned her, fumbling with her Poké Ball in his pocket. He needed to stop her before she killed the poor thing.

However, an ominous presence became known to him. Eyes. Large, red, disc-shaped eyes. Two. Four. Eight. Sixteen. Oh, no. A collection of bone-chilling, yet unnervingly soft hoots resonated among them. Raven looked up as she stood above the downed creature.

He craned his head up, slowly. Atop the tallest tree within their campsite, a towering, shadowy figure rose above the rest. A large crest was outlined atop its piercing, glowing eyes. A Noctowl.

"Run!" he shouted, as he bolted off into the forest, barely grabbing the unzipped duffle bag.

Raven forgot about her potential meal and chased after him just as the Noctowl released a howling screech throughout the forest, and the entire flock of Hoothoot dove from the trees in pursuit. The forest became alive in the night, and Ciel ran for his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I hope all of you who celebrate it had a happy Halloween! This chapter is brought to you by adventure, where people walk in the woods for a while and stare at trees. Surprisingly, I'm always excited to do "adventure" chapters full of travel, because I feel like it more naturally arises character introspection, which is one of my fortes.**
> 
> **See you soon for Chapter 4: Find True North.**


	4. Find True North

He hadn't washed his hair in days. There were bits of twigs and leaves intermingled with his strands, which, by the way, were strewn everywhere in disarray by the sheer amount of oil that had built up. His normal slick look couldn't match the weathering power of the elements.

He had scratches all over his face and back. His favorite shirt was ruined. He wanted to go home.

The tent was still in some forgotten clearing off Route 29, days behind them, after they'd abandoned it due to their… mishap. He slept on the hard ground for two nights, without any convenient fur to cushion him, of which his partner had made it a habit to flaunt at his dismay. He just wanted a nice, comfy bed to sleep in. Maybe his bed back in Mahogany. Maybe even his bed in Goldenrod.

Was this just his mother's way of teaching him a lesson? He would bet that she's just waiting for him to reach Cherrygrove and call her in desperation, and she'd laugh at his foolishness. He'd  _thought_  he was ready on a whim because of a single battle against a powerful trainer. He'd  _though_ t that classroom survival training translated into preparing him for the thick of it. Boy, was he a complete moron.

One positive he'd found was that his legs didn't hurt anymore. That was a combination both of his attention to the more painful cuts and bruises from a swarm of angry bird Pokémon, as well as the fact that he may have lost feeling in his legs altogether. Either or.

What bothered him most about the trip so far was Raven's response to the downed Hoothoot. It was natural for Pokémon to exhibit predatory behavior, but the idea of her doing that during a sanctioned battle and seriously injuring, or even killing, another Trainer's Pokémon didn't sit well with him. Worse, she had refused to listen to him when he told her to back off, just as she'd refused his advice about the Apricorn on the first day. Perhaps it was punishment for commanding her to charge directly into a battle that he knew would best her and getting her hurt as a result. It was evidence that he was still far and away a novice, and that his relationship between Raven as Trainer and Pokémon was lackluster at best. He still had so much to do.

However, as much as Ciel wanted to sit down and sit with Raven and talk, he was worried about something else. Food. He put his thoughts away for a while.

As their hike continued, he felt himself growing hungrier. The dried food he'd packed hadn't been enough. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to have rationed it better, or if they just didn't buy enough at the Mahogany general store, or if it was only for him and he was supposed to keep his Pokémon in stasis, or… it didn't matter. He was out of food. He couldn't even eat the apricorns he had stashed in his bag until he got someone to juice them for him.

The landscape was growing so dull. The same trees over and over. It was putting him to sleep. Or maybe it was the starvation. Yeah, that was it.

Ciel collapsed to his knees, unable to walk any further. He felt his stomach screaming out. It was over for him. The young man curled up on the ground. "Ughhhhh," he groaned out. He was dying. It was over for him.

"So, are you going to keep lying there like a drama queen, or what?" asked a voice.

Ciel craned his head along the ground, trailing up towards a person standing nearby, feet tapping on the dirt path. He was wearing casual clothing, with a messenger bag strapped over his shoulder. He was certain their attire was mostly green, but it was overshadowed by the blinding light of the falling sun behind his figure. An angel had come to save him.

"I'm… starving," he choked out.

"No, you're not. You'd be a lot thinner and paler." A very cynical angel. "Also, your fluffy thing over there doesn't seem to care."

He looked over at Raven, who was sitting in the grass and licking her paw. She appeared completely indifferent to the entire conversation, letting out a large yawn.

"She does that. Look, can you just help me? I've been out here for days, man," he asked, sighing and trying to sit up.

"Well, helping is definitely what I do," he said, stepping across the path to stand in front of Ciel. As the man extended his hand, Ciel noticed the Poké Ball designs across his bag and a Super Potion hanging from his lanyard. He took the hand and stood to meet him.

"Hey there, stranger!" the man said, jubilantly. "The name's Brent Custos, and I want to be a hero."

* * *

Stepping out into the cool air of the shower room felt unreal. He'd never been more relaxed in his whole life. Combining a simple refreshing pleasure with four days of continuous walk through the forest brought him to another state of being. Ciel wanted nothing but to stay huddled up inside his mass of rented towels forever.

But, he realized soon that he couldn't sit around any longer, despite how much he wished to. He apparently had someone waiting.

He dug through the remains of his duffle bag, lamenting that he hadn't carried any plastic bags, or something. The dirty clothes were all mixed up with the cleans, though he rationed that nothing inside the bag was completely clean anymore. There was dirt caked along the insides that he'd picked up at one point or another. After finding a few articles that didn't smell too bad, he hastily threw them on, tossed the towels in a bin, and exited the shower room.

Ciel hadn't had the opportunity to fully appreciate the Pokémon Center as he rushed in to clean himself off, but… wow. The building was massive, filled to the brim with postmodern design touches. As he walked down the hallway from the restroom area, the space opened into an even larger front lobby that shined red from the neon walls. Cherrygrove wasn't even that large of a city, yet the Center dwarfed and outshined even the one in Goldenrod.

Up front, various shop stalls stood open for travelers, and a set of stairs led to a second floor with a balcony overhang.

"Hey, look who finally decided to show his face again. You were in there for over half an hour."

He walked over to the couch that the man, Brent, was reclining on. Raven was dozing on the space next to him, her front paws dangling off the piece of furniture, claws kneading the air in response to the hand stroking her back. The man gave a knowing grin.

"Your Pokémon seems to like me more than she likes you," he said.

Ciel took a seat. "That might not be an exaggeration," he replied.

"I've never seen a Pokémon like this. Very exotic. Where'd you get it?"

"Do you want the short version or the long version?"

Brent considered that for a moment. He shrugged. "Short, I guess."

"Okay. I went camping in Hoenn for a vacation once and almost died. She's an Absol, and I call her Raven," Ciel explained.

Though Brent nodded in understanding, the two fell into a tense silence, filled in by the bustle of other people milling about the Pokémon Center. A group of teens were playing a card game on a nearby table and laughing joyfully. He found it annoying. But, he was that teenager, so he didn't say anything.

Instead, he focused on a large neon sign hanging over one of the center's eateries. His eyes were feeding visuals directly to his stomach, which growled softly. Ciel hadn't downed anything the entire day, since his dried food was all gone, and he hadn't crossed a stream for a while.

After a bit, he decided that sitting unresponsive next to a stranger—who was still petting his own Pokémon, by the way—was too awkward to handle. He coughed, and the man turned to him curiously while hanging his free arm back over the couch.

"So, you're not from around here, are you?" Ciel asked.

"What?" Brent shot him a confused glance. "What do you mean? I live here."

"Wait, really? What about your name, then?" There were too many questions being thrown back and forth.

"Huh? My dad was Unovan," Brent chided. "What about you, Mr. Ciel? That's Kalosian. Not very local, if I do say so myself."

Ciel scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed at his accusation. He shouldn't have assumed the man was foreign, since Ciel himself was a rarity among Johtoans for having blond hair. "My mom's a bit of a romantic," he said to justify his own name. "Anyway, thanks for helping me make it here. And paying for my shower."

"Don't sweat it. I'm just doing my job as a hero." He threw his other arm back behind the couch and propped one ankle up on his other knee. There was a worn-out sandal on his foot.

"A hero?" Ciel made his skepticism obvious.

"Yeah. A hero. That's who I want to be."

A hero. He sat there thinking about what exactly that meant, and how anyone could intentionally try to be one. A hero was someone who dramatically saved the day, was rewarded handsomely, and lived on in legend, like those buff action movie characters who commanded six Pokémon at once. When was the last time that a real person, let alone some eccentric weirdo from what could hardly be called a city, was called a hero?

Brent was eyeing him and grinned with a raised eyebrow. "I can tell you think it's a bit strange. Most people I've talked to do."

"No, no, it's cool," he said, putting his hands up in a defensive gesture. "I'm just not sure what exactly being a hero means to you."

The man put a hand on his chin. Evidently, even he wasn't so sure about what it meant, and needed to think over it for a little while. Eventually, he said, "It just means… to be there for someone, I think." He paused again. "You don't have to save the world or do anything special, at least not to start. You can just help someone out, try your best, and believe that what you're doing is right. If you're a hero in the eyes of at least one person, you've done a good job, and then you keep going. And, if you keep doing that, eventually, you'll find that you've made a real difference. That's who I want to be."

Ciel couldn't take his focus off the man. His tone had changed from joyfully confident to a softer, more grounded state. It was apparent that this was something the man really cared about, and with that in mind, he couldn't help but respect Brent Custos. Here he was, ready to go out into the world and make a difference, yet Ciel hadn't even the vaguest idea of what he wanted to do with himself.

Brent must have realized that the conversation became awkward again and flashed a wide grin. "Anyways, what about you? You're a trainer too, so do you have any specific goals?"

There it was. "No, I don't. I don't really even know why I'm here, or if I want to keep going," Ciel said. Well, if he was accurate, he was here because one of the greatest trainers in the region gave him a short-lived confidence boost. Maybe that had backfired.

"Why don't you come along with me for a while?"

"What?" he was nearly stunned at the offer.

"Come along with me. I'm heading to Violet City soon to check out the Gym and maybe a few sights. I've heard Pokémon Training is always better with a friend."

It didn't take Ciel long to consider that offer. The young trainer outstretched his hand, and locked eyes with the man. Brent grinned and shook his hand, his grip matching the confidence he exuded.

"I need to head to a Poké Mart," Ciel said. "My mother told me she was going to send money to my trainer account, and I need to pick up a few things."

"Right on, then. Follow me."

The two left the Pokémon Center shortly afterward with an annoyed Raven in tow. She didn't seem to like that no one was giving her attention anymore. Ciel couldn't help but snicker at her dismay, earning him a growl.

Outside the Center, though it wasn't a very large city, the architecture and urban feel of Cherrygrove was impressive. Nearly every building in sight was adorned with a pleasant, rust-red roof and cream-colored siding—even the two high-rise apartment complexes held the same decorative unity. Ciel looked down into the waters of a river that cut through town as they crossed the bridge above, noticing a group of Corsola wading along the bottom. If he was correct, the river ran all the way out to sea and the city was directly in the middle of the greater delta.

As they walked by two blossoming trees, he was reminded to inhale and take in the smell. Boy, was that really something. The aromatic recipe of saltwater and cherry blossoms nearly put his senses on overdrive—he wanted to faint. In a pleasant way, of course. He began to look around for any sign of the Poké Mart, thinking that they had missed it.

"Hey, are you sure you know where you're going? I thought Poke Marts were always near a Pokémon Center."

"No, you're right. I was just detouring to show you my home city," Brent said with an undertone of mischief.

Well, it wasn't a bad experience. Ciel had always loved to travel, which is one reason why his trip to Hoenn was so fond in his memory. Not much was more exciting, he thought, than taking in new sights and an unfamiliar way of life. It was a mark of how much more there was to see, and simultaneously how little he had seen. As he appreciated the cherry blossoms and ignored the residual aches in his legs during their walk, he rationalized that to be at least part of the reason why he wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer.

They had walked in what amounted to a massive circle before Brent led Ciel back to the Mart. He tried to ignore the fact that the two were in plain view of each other.

"I'll just wait out here while you gather what you need," Brent said as he leaned against the blue outer wall of the building. Ciel nodded and stepped through the doors, Raven following him inside.

Inside the store, the young trainer didn't waste much time perusing the goods. Any Trainer worth their salt knew what they needed: Potions, Status Cures, Escape Ropes, Repels, and most importantly, Poké Balls. He was ecstatic to finally be able to catch his Pokémon at his own discretion. It was what made Pokémon training, well, training. Ciel walked through the small, exceedingly white shop, stepping across the tiled floor to the first aisle he was interested in. He picked a case of fifteen capsules off the shelf, marked with a brightly-colored discount tag and the crest of the Pokémon League.

In the next aisle, Ciel grabbed an armful of Potions and one of each of the Status bottles, minus an Ice Heal. A few Repels were added to the growing pile in the boy's arms, and he regretted not picking up a basket. He fumbled with the payload and shouted in surprise as a Repel canister dropped out of his arms towards the floor.

He watched in horror as the can fell directly in the path of Raven's head. In the half second before it clocked her, she swung her blade around and sliced the can in two. The pressurized object exploded, splattering the foul-smelling repellant everywhere around the aisle they were standing.

"Raven!" he shouted while waving a hand in front of his nose. "I have to pay for that!"

A few other people in the shop were staring at him, his Pokémon, and the the mess he had made. His Pokémon turned her head away, snobbishly, and trotted off towards the checkout counter. Ciel followed his partner back to the counter, where she then sat as if waiting for him to clean up her mess. He and the cashier shared a look.

As he placed the undamaged items on the counter, he realized that he never actually checked his PC account in the Pokémon Center, so he had no idea how much money he could spend. He really wanted to buy a snack or something, but he didn't want to push his available funds. Ciel decided not to risk it, and fortunately, his Trainer Card wasn't declined after the total. The trainer sighed in relief. It still set him back ₽5400, but hopefully he'd make it last for a while until he could make some money of his own. The cashier, a young man probably about his age, didn't press him about the mess, so he left the building awkwardly with his plastic bag full of goods. Raven strolled in smug manner behind him.

His new acquaintance was still waiting for him outside and held back a snort upon seeing him. "Something exciting happen?"

"I won't be bothered by wild Pokémon for a bit," he said, dryly.

He sniffed the air, scrunched his nose, and then whiffed away. "Geez. I can tell. You ready to go?"

"Just give me a second," he said.

Ciel reached into his pocket and withdrew one of his two registered Poké Balls. He quickly fired the beam at his partner, and she reeled back, frozen in surprise as she dematerialized. It wouldn't make much difference to her, since Pokémon in stasis feel like they're immediately displaced from one place to another, but he didn't want to deal with her for the moment.

"Okay," he said, "now I'm ready."

"Fine with me. Now, we head north!"

"North? Now? You just said you were leaving 'soon'," Ciel questioned. He didn't want to leave immediately. He still needed time to rest his legs and hopefully regain some semblance of motivation and purpose. And he still needed to do laundry somewhere. And eat. And call his mother.

"Don't worry, we're not going to be doing a lot of walking." Brent flashed a wide grin and began walking off in some unknown direction. "You're gonna love this," he called back.

Ciel shook his head and decided to chase after him against all semblance of rationality, his still aching legs carrying him along. He could forget about a few things for a little while, but the next time he got to a Pokémon Center, he was calling his mother and having a steaming bowl of ramen.

One thing he hadn't particularly noticed before was how flat Cherrygrove was. It was legally defined as a city, but it had to have been the smallest and most unassuming city he'd ever seen; very few buildings were taller than two stories, and even what he assumed to be corporate structures matched the area's homey, red-roofed style. Even on the smallest hill, if he stood on the tips of his toes, he could see the encompassing blue of the ocean. Crossing the city was pleasant, but his legs were starting to get to him. He couldn't wait for an extended period of sitting. Sitting and eating.

As the ground shifted from pavement to dirt and grass, Ciel realized that they were in a very backwater section of the city. Sturdy buildings made way for fragile-looking wooden barns. He would never have guessed that the transition from urban to rural would be so sudden. There were a lot more Pokémon than further in the city, and most of them were scurrying around in the open grass. A Sentret sentry far to his left was balanced high on its tail, hidden partially behind a shed, boring its eyes into him.

"We're genuinely out in the boonies," Ciel said, eyeing a group of Rattata passing in front of them.

"That's the plan. We're almost there."

"Can you tell me exactly what this 'plan' of yours is?" He felt his stomach grumble, become even more aware that he hadn't eaten since he downed the remaining crumbs of dried food the day before. "I really need to stop and eat something, man."

"Well, you see," Brent started, turning back to Ciel with a grin on his face. The sound of voices and people became apparent. "Never underestimate the people who make food for a living."

Ciel stopped as the sparse buildings opened further, the quiet rural side of Cherrygrove suddenly exploding into a bustling center. His eyes went wide. There were hundreds of people gathered around! Brightly colored wooden stalls selling fruits and vegetables, looking inviting but structurally unstable, were filled with lines. Ciel observed a group of muscular, overall-toting men tossing hay bales into a truck alongside a Machamp, the towering creature's extra limbs allowing it to double the work. The Pokémon waved at him when it noticed him looking their direction. He returned the gesture.

"This is really cool," Ciel admitted. He almost wished he had his sister here to wander around, just like they did at the monthly farmer's market back in Goldenrod.

He leaned over a crowd of people at a stall. A man was selling fine cuts of red meat, a wooden sign above him reading "fresh from the Tauros" scrawled in white paint. Seeing it made his mouth water uncontrollably, but he swallowed unsatisfyingly and continued after his new friend.

Brent led him over to another truck, a giant flatbed laden with bright pink Pecha berries. The load of heart-shaped produce was covered with a blue mesh net and tied to the bed of the vehicle. The cab's red paint streaked in the afternoon sun. "Food's not what we're here for, actually. Hey, Mr. Takuha!"

A man standing in front of the truck's popped hood peeked over the side. He was fidgeting with something with a wrench. "Ah, I didn't expect to see you back so soon, kid," the black-haired farmer said. He stepped back, closed the hood of the truck with a resounding boom, and held the wrench over his shoulder with an oil-darkened work glove. "Off to see Nana again?"

"Not this time, buddy. I'm off for good, though I might stop by when we get there." Brent reached into his pocket and brandished a Poké Ball at the man.

Mr. Takuha gave a knowing grin. "Figured it might happen someday. Climb in, I leave for Violet in ten."

As the man got into his truck, Brent turned to Ciel and jerked his thumb backwards, pointing confidently at the truck bed filled with color.

Ciel stuck his hands in his pockets. "Oh, hell yeah."

* * *

The massive vehicle lurched to the side as the wheels rolled over a rock in the road. The two in the back simultaneously grabbed bed's perimeter wall and held on for dear life. Ciel held his duffle to his lap to make sure he didn't lose it. Mr. Takuha called back and apologized for the bump, and Ciel and Brent settled down once again to the ambient noise of the truck's booming engine.

The trainers sat on a large metal box at the rear of the truck, facing inward. Ciel reasoned that the box was present for this express purpose and that the farmer normally transported people as well as his produce and didn't want them sitting on the goods. For good measure, he always kept one hand on the side wall. It was nerve-wracking, to be honest, but it definitely beat walking.

"Hey, I just remembered that I had some chips. Do you want some?" Brent asked. He retrieved a plastic package from inside his messenger bag and held it out to Ciel.

"Goodness, yes," he said, and snatched the bag unceremoniously. He tore it open and dug in as he stared out at a passing pond beside the wide road. He let out a groan of satisfaction after downing the entire bag of fried goodness in under a minute.

"Sorry it took me so long to get you some food. You really didn't weather Route 29 well, did you?"

Ciel shook his head. "I didn't pack enough food, and I probably should have traveled with someone. I met a couple of Trainers in New Bark that seemed nice enough, but I decided to leave early. Bad idea."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"What?" The question somewhat caught him off guard.

"Sorry, I was just curious. You look pretty young for a Pokémon Trainer."

"Oh, yeah," Ciel said. "I'm seventeen. I turn eighteen next January."

"A young'un?" He asked, with a mocked accent of an old man. "Does that mean that your parents are…?"

"League employees, yeah. I got my Trainer Card issued after I turned sixteen. My mother turned in a recommendation to the Indigo commissioner in Goldenrod and I took a little exam. It was pretty easy, since I'd had Raven for about three years at that point."

"I guess that makes me your adult supervision. I'm nineteen."

"Huh." It was all Ciel really had to say. He stared back out onto the road, where it had begun to slope upwards as they reached the midland foothills he had just recently ridden down. The Cheri trees from the city were starting to disappear in favor of fewer, shorter greens that could stand the uneven ground. He missed the smell.

Unfortunately, they had struggled to find conversation for most of the ride so far, as it just wasn't that easy to find things to talk about with a near-complete stranger. All he knew about Brent so far was that he wanted to be a hero, though Ciel wondered what it meant to him above what he'd already shared.

The teenager supposed that it was an effective way to motivate oneself. Vague enough to be flexible and good-intentioned enough to make you think it's worth something. Not to say that Brent wasn't riding on anything—he wasn't going to pass any judgement on someone he just met, especially in the face of a good first impression. He just thought that there wasn't much to wanting to be hero, especially without any other specific aims. He decided to ask about it.

"So, hey… I've been wondering about something." His companion glanced up at him. "That hero stuff you said. You told me what it meant to you, but a better question is why you want to do it."

He smiled wide. "Oh, that's easy. It's for my mother."

"Your mom?"

"Yeah. She's my hero, always has been. I don't think she's gone a day in her life since I was born where she's thought about herself, especially since my father…" He trailed off, making it clear that he already said more than he wanted to. "Sorry, that's a bit personal. I'm not going to bother you with that. I just want to be like her and hopefully make some people happy."

Ciel almost wanted to urge him to keep talking but decided against pushing the matter. He was no stranger to having trouble with father figures, so even without an explanation, he at least understood. If the two were going to be spending time together, they'd have plenty of time to talk. Instead, his attention returned to the mound of berries, to which he frowned.

A Pidgey had landed atop the vaguely-pyramidal mount and began nipping the netting with its beak. The small bird also attempted to tear into the mesh with its claws to little success. It was growing visibly agitated. However, its struggle was interrupted when two violet-furred, small humanoids also dropped from the sky onto the mesh netting. Their purple tails extended into large, hand-like structures, and without any hesitation, they grabbed hold of the netting and ripped.

"Wait, stop!" he called out, both getting the attention of the Pokémon and alerting Brent to their presence after he'd been staring the opposite direction. They ignored him and worked faster to open the netting, as if realizing already that they might be stopped.

His friend stood up and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Finally, it's the reason why we're here," he said.

"What do you mean?" Despite his confusion, Ciel matched the action and held a capsule at the ready. As he gripped the ball, his previous troubles came to mind. He reasonably slipped Raven's Poké Ball back into his pocket and replaced it with his other active one.

"There's one caveat to us hitching a free ride that I regret to mention. We've got to protect the berries from any would-be snatchers. Let's take them down."

"Oh, goodie," Ciel replied.

Both trainers held their Poké Balls in front of them and released their chosen Pokémon. From his capsule came Arden. The excited creature materialized on the berry pile and immediately ignited. From Brent's capsule released a Sentret, just like the ones he'd seen scurrying around in Cherrygrove earlier that day, who jumped into ready position onto its tail.

Ciel stood up and clung tightly to the truck bed. "Don't burn the berries, okay?" he ordered first. It felt more like a suggestion. "Use Tackle!"

"Sentret, Scratch!"

Ciel's Cyndaquil crawled awkwardly over the berry mount towards his target. Though he hadn't specified which wild to attack, Arden decided to throw itself at the one on the left. It let out a cry as the opponent deftly swung around and smacked the creature with its tail, sending Arden into the wall of the truck bed. Sentret, however, bounced on its tail to propel itself forward and scraped its claws across the Pokémon's back as it recovered from the swing.

Arden returned to Ciel at the back of the truck bed, awaiting orders. The Aipom that hadn't been attacked took up a defensive stance between the trainers and the other thieves, who began fighting over a Pecha berry. Ciel assumed that the Pidgey wasn't part of their operation. He couldn't risk firing an Ember to ward them off, right? It would damage the berries, which was what they were trying to avoid.

The truck lurched again on its ascent and sent the all the Pokémon into disarray, including his own. As the Aipom lost balance and struggled to correct themselves, the Pidgey hovered into the air, following the truck, and Ciel took the opportunity.

"Arden, use Ember on the one in the sky!"

His Cyndaquil, though disoriented from the bump, squealed in delight and launched a flaming projectile from its snout. The fireball arced over the mound and struck the bird in the side, causing it to let out a pained whine.

"Fury Swipes!" Brent called.

His Sentret locked itself into a fierce melee with one of the tailed thieves. It frantically landed one swipe after another, alternatively being knocked around by the Aipom's own swinging appendage. After staggering backwards, the wild Pokémon jumped backwards, and Ciel watched out of the corner of his eye it began to spin. The tailed creature rotated its entire body around on the mount, building up momentum in its tail like a hammer throw.

"Stop it before it hits you, Quick Attack!" Brent ordered.

Sentret pushed itself to its fastest speed to lunge at the Aipom's with a claw extended. The brown body of his Pokémon deftly flew under the path of the swinging weapon and dove its claw into the Aipom's body. Losing balance from the strike, the opponent squeaked in surprise and fell over, injured and out of breath.

Ciel continued dealing with the Pidgey. He ordered Arden to use Tackle again, this time towards the downed bird and without being countered. It attempted to fly away, but singing its wing temporarily inhibited its ability to catch air. He watched it beat its wings, but the injured left was slower than the undamaged right, preventing it from taking flight. It took the Tackle in the side.

A thought ran through Ciel's mind. "Wait, where's the other Aipom?" he asked to the other trainer.

"Use Tackle!" Brent called, before diverting his attention. "What do you mean?"

Almost on cue, the injured Aipom's partner stuck its head out of the mount of berries on the far side of the truck. It had one its mouth with a firm bite, and four others were gripped by the hand-like shape of its tail. Waving its arms caught the attention of its partner, who swiftly turned and scurried across the pile away from Sentret. The pair snickered and turned around, ready to jump away once a tree came close enough.

"We've got to stop them," Brent warned.

"On it," Ciel assured. "Arden, use Quick Attack to close the distance, then Ember. Don't hit the berries!"

Arden chimed in delight and shot off across the truck. Regardless of its diminutive size, he was strangely fast, amplified by powering itself to use Quick Attack. It closed the distance, and just as the Aipom prepared to jump, he unleashed a point-blank Ember directly into the back of the one carrying the berries. The jolt of pain caused its tail to drop the tail's payload, but Arden couldn't halt the jump and both bodies hurled themselves onto the branch of a nearby tree, which soon disappeared behind the advancing truck. Ciel turned around to see the two fading into the distance, one happily munching on the single Pecha berry it kept, and the other sticking out its tongue. He frowned.

Brent sat back down on the box, with his Pokémon curling up beside him. "That went well enough, right?"

Ciel nodded but remembered that the truck wasn't completely clear. The sole Pidgey remained, preening its injured wing and trying to free a claw that it had gotten stuck under the netting. Brent moved to stand up again and order Sentret to attack, but Ciel held out his arm.

"I've got a better idea," he said. From within his duffle, he brought out the case of Poké Balls he'd bought previously. With a snap, the case popped open. He took one and tapped the button, enlarging it to its ready state. Rather than risking losing a thrown capsule due to the movement of the truck, he simply held out the empty Poké Ball and tapped the button.

The beam struck the body of the wild Pokémon. The two watched as it was deconstructed and filtered through the red light, before it retracted into the Poké Ball completely. Ciel held the item in his hand as it shook. Once. Twice. Thrice. Click. Not another throw was needed.

The young trainer held the capsule to the sky triumphantly. Though it wasn't the first Pokémon he had caught, his new Pidgey was the first he'd caught in battle. He was beaming, and Brent seemed to share in his excitement. "Alright!" he shouted into the forest.

The moment would have lasted longer had the truck not lurched over another bump in the road as soon has he had opened his mouth. Ciel bit his tongue.

"Ow!"

It was a long way to Violet City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I believe this is my favorite chapter so far, simply because I really like softer character moments and conversations. Plus, the introduction of a new character is always energizing, so that's a bonus.**
> 
> **As a heads up, though I've been posting weekly for about a month, this will probably slow down sometime soon. I'm nearly complete in posting my backlog of completed chapters (up to Chapter 6), so my updates will become a little more sparse soon.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Come back next week for Chapter 5: Flight of Passage!**


	5. Flight of Passage

"Have you seen this man?" a mustachioed and trench-coat toting Ethan asking, pointing vigorously at the photo image of Silver on the Trainer Card.

The passerby he accosted on the street stepped warily backwards. The man's eyes landed on Lyra, who stood arms crossed behind her friend, for guidance. She shook her head. Though she wouldn't assume he was an upstanding from the beer-stained wifebeater, she still felt sorry that someone else had to put up with this. At least someone could empathize with her.

"No…?" he hesitantly responded. He looked irritated.

"What?" Ethan was taken aback, so he pointed an accusing finger. "I'll have you know that finding this person is critical to the administration of justice. Did you know that?"

"No…?" the man said once again. He was sweating from his brow. Lyra could swear she could hear his blood pressure rising.

"Give me all the information you have, old guy. We're short on time."

The man's chin-length frown and angled eyebrows were enough to make Ethan back off, and the two trainers watched as he stormed off. Lyra was relieved that the man didn't drag that conversation on any longer than he needed to.

"Is there any reason why you have to make such a big deal out of it?" Lyra finally asked her friend. "And why do you even own a trench coat and fake moustache?"

Her friend slipped the coat from his shoulders and rolled it up under his arm. He left the moustache on. "Because it's fun. Don't I look like one of those cool International Police detectives?

"Really, all you're doing is intimidating people and making them less likely to answer. Just ask people normally and we might make some progress. With as much time as we're wasting, Silver's probably halfway to Ecruteak."

Ethan stared at her with a puzzled expression. "Why are we in a hurry? The professor already told the Indigo League and I'm sure police all over are keeping an eye out. We're just icing on the cake."

"I…" She paused. He made an excellent point. Something was gravely wrong if Ethan was making excellent points. "I don't know. It just makes me really angry to think about him running around doing whatever he wants. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind." She curled a fist at her side, digging her nails into her palm.

"No, I get it," Ethan reassured her. "We're gonna rescue Totodile for the professor and have that guy tossed in jail. Simple and easy, and it gives us something to do."

"Yeah," Lyra replied absently.

Their search around town continued at an admittedly dismal pace. Lyra was becoming somewhat annoyed by the whole endeavor, mostly because they hadn't really taken an opportunity to rest since they finished their hike across Route 29. They'd been walking for a few days straight, and then upon reaching the city, got right back to walking. It was boring her. She wanted to blame Ethan for taking "playing detective" to heart, but it was her idea in the first place.

"I recognize the blossoms on that cherry tree," Ethan claimed, though it was more likely that the surrounding landscape was familiar. "We've searched as much as we can around here, so we should find someplace else."

"Where do you plan to look?" she asked him after crossing her arms.

"Dunno. I'm new to this. Any suggestions?"

Lyra considered the situation for a moment. "Where would a juvenile delinquent, probably without any money, go after walking in the woods for days?"

Ethan's eyes widened as he connected the dots.

"Fast food!" the two friends exclaimed simultaneously.

Fortunately, there was a surprising lack of fast food in Cherrygrove, which helped narrow their search. Lyra pulled out her Poké GEAR and loaded up the map function to quickly search for any nearby locations. Only five locations would qualify as "fast food" within the city limits, which was both relieving as well as revealing of the city's diminutive presence. Was she the only one who thought that "Cherrygrove City" was inaccurate?

Pleasingly, it turned out that almost every tree in the city had a halogen light rigged near its base, so as the day began to fade, the nice pink color persisted visually throughout the city. She couldn't help but admire the cityscape, especially since the only other thing she could be focusing on was her friend parading around like an idiot.

Surprisingly, they hit a satisfying jackpot at their first stop, Shiro Burger. It was technically a sit-down restaurant, according to her Poké GEAR. At least Silver could afford a little bit of class. The two stepped inside to find it expectedly sparse, and her dumb idiot took the opportunity to put his coat back on. She went ahead without him to the counter.

"Welcome to Shiro Burger," said a bored employee, chin held in his hand. He leaned over a white counter with a black stripe running along the front. "May I take your order?"

She felt bad for him. He must not have had busy days. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd seen someone come through here. Bright red hair, wearing a dark jacket. I think he was wearing jeans when we last saw him, but he could have changed since then."

The employee tilted his head to the side. "Not sure I know who you mean."

Ethan, still fumbling with his coat, came up to her side and held up the Trainer Card. "This guy."

"Oh, that guy. Yeah, I saw him. He was in here yesterday at about noon and ordered a Double Bushido Burger with fries and a large soda. A pretty angry looking fellow, I would say."

Lyra raised an eyebrow. How did he remember that? "Well, we need to find out where he's going. To give his Trainer Card back," she added, just to make sure they weren't giving the wrong impression. "Do you know which way he might have went?"

"It's not my job to keep track of people, okay? Although, I do remember him muttering to himself very angrily while I was sweeping the floors. Something about his mom, or whatever. And I think he mentioned Pokémon training and spaceships. Kind of a weird guy."

"You don't get a lot of customers, do you?" Ethan half-asked, half-declared.

The man flashed an annoyed glance at the them and ignored the question. "Look, if you're in here, are you going to order something or not?"

The prevalent aroma of freshly fried food, while definitely not her first choice for mindful eating, swayed her immediately. She hadn't had real food in days, and at that point she really didn't need additional convincing. The diversion to a fast food restaurant gave them a triple-pattied cheeseburger with onions for Ethan and a chicken sandwich for her. Both had ridiculous names.

The two rested for a time as they ate their junky meals, filled with a surprising lack of her friend's antics. She took a bite of her sandwich and found it delicious in a knowingly guilty way—deep down, she knew that they'd earned at least a little reward for trying to locate a criminal in addition to their expected travel. The fancy honey mustard was heavenly.

A television tucked in the corner of the ceiling caught her eye for a few moments, though it was muted and not all that substantial. The Pokémon League CEO, a graying man in an emerald suit, was giving a press conference, meeting, whatever. It was about some organized crime bust in Sinnoh, but she couldn't pay attention for long. Perhaps she was just worn out and her attention scattered. As she looked back across the table, Lyra noticed Ethan looking straight through her. Despite her meeting his eye, he didn't seem bothered and refused to look away.

"You're staring," she said.

"You know what we should do?" Ethan asked.

She hummed in response and took another bite out of her sandwich before downing it with the large glass of water she had ordered.

"We should battle." His grin was a mile wide. "We've both got Pokémon now, and that's, like, the quintessential interaction between two new adventurers. My Marigold versus your Marill." He paused for a moment. "Huh. They both start with 'mari'."

"He has a nickname, you know. It's Maron."

"That's still three letters."

She scoffed. "And he had it first, so he has the right to it."

Lyra watched in horror as her friend's lips curled slowly upwards. Oh no. This was entirely her fault. She'd gotten so absorbed in her meal and in the conversation that she hadn't restrained herself from accidentally giving him ideas. Ethan jumped up onto his seat and firmly planted one leg on the table like a conqueror claiming uncharted land.

"Please put your foot down, Ethan."

"I challenge you for the right to bear the name!" he shouted across the empty restaurant, catching the attention of the cashier. "Meet me at the dueling grounds at the turn of the next hour!" Ethan leaned in. "The dueling grounds are just the town square," he whispered.

"Is this really necessary?" she asked him.

"Come on," he said. "It'll be fun. It's like those marriage ceremonies where the bride and the groom battle over who gets to keep their last name. Isn't that exciting?"

"Are you implying we're getting married?" Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"Pssh, no. Of course not." She noted a bit of hesitation but sipped her water rather than feeding his banter further.

He hopped down from his seat and shoved the remainder of his burger whole into his mouth, downing it in one painful-looking swallow. "Alright, I'll see you there," he said, even though she hadn't expressly agreed to anything. Her friend sped out the door. The bell chime echoed far longer than it should have.

She grabbed a wad of bills that were curled up under Ethan's plate and headed to the counter to pay for the food. So, he wasn't completely daft. After a round of profuse apologies to the cashier for his friend's rude behavior, she paid for both of their meals.

"So, are you two friends or not?" He asked.

"Regrettably." She fumbled with the jumbled bills, which were both ripped and folded along strange lines. She assumed there was ₽2,000 in the pile, but it was difficult to tell.

"He doesn't annoy you, or anything?"

"Oh, no, he annoys me. But, I might be the only person on the planet qualified to deal with him." Despite her words, she let out a soft chuckle. "Is this enough for both?"

"Yeah. Have a nice day."

"You too."

As she stepped outside, she stopped to process. She wanted to find the thief, primarily for the sake of the stolen Pokémon and the neurotic mess who was responsible for it, but also because she felt some need to talk to him after what she saw in the forest. Something about his malice resonated with her—she wasn't justifying his behavior, of course, but she knew there had to be more to it. Much of her time was spent looking past meaningless actions and words at the person behind them, so she felt she knew a thing or two.

However, despite she and Ethan committing to tracking Silver down, she had to stop and remind herself that it wasn't the reason they were traveling to begin with. They were Pokémon Trainers, and if she didn't start focusing on battling and training, then why did they even leave to begin with? She brought up her hands, holding Maron's Poké Ball in one and an empty capsule in the other.

It was time for her and Maron to get some practice in. But, she already had a plan to have a little fun.

* * *

"Use Bubble!" she ordered.

Maron fired a concentrated stream of bubbles from his small mouth towards his opponent. Individually, each bubble was inconsequential and amounted to just a sharp snap, but when combined, the tiny pains added up. Two of them stuck to Marigold's body as she tried to evade before popping with loud cracks.

As Marigold recovered, Ethan issued his counterattack. "Use Razor Leaf!"

Though dazed, the Chikorita's leaf began glowing with a brilliant green light. She whipped her head around and swung the leaf with her body's momentum, and the energy launched in his direction in the shape of a swirling crescent. That was only the first shot. The Pokémon, enjoying herself immensely by the elated expression, repeatedly whipped her entire head back and forth to launch a volley of the projectiles their direction.

Maron positioned himself to dodge, but his round body didn't lend itself well, and he took one projectile directly in his white belly. The green energy exploded into the air on contact, causing him to let out a high-pitched groan. Most of the other projectiles missed wildly, with one flying right past her, blowing the hat off her head and almost clipping her hair. She grumbled and swiped the round article back up from the pavement.

"Watch where you're shooting those things," she scolded at Ethan, before turning her attention to her Pokémon. "Are you alright, Maron?" Her partner turned and affirmed with a squeak, though the direct hit clearly knocked a bit out of him. His Water-type meant that the hit probably exhausted him more than another attack might due to the natural disadvantage. She'd have to be more aggressive, since it would be more beneficial to control her opponent's actions rather than Maron only being able to dodge and hope.

"Sorry about that, Lyra," her opponent said, clearly not as sorry as he could have been. "We were trying to practice our aim while we were waiting. Speaking of, where were you? It's been like an hour."

"I had to, uhh…" she hadn't thought of an excuse. "I went to the Pokémon Center to make sure that Maron was in top condition for the battle."

He looked puzzled. "That couldn't have taken more than twenty minutes."

"Then, I took a stroll around the city. It was pretty nice this evening."

As they spoke, their Pokémon stared each other down across the square. Though, it was less a stare-down and more a friendly regard. Marigold looked excited just to be involved and was bubbly bouncing on her legs and chirping in delight. Her own Pokémon looked equally excited, but his body language implied he was more thrilled by the fight than the company. Maron's tail swing back and forth, exaggerated by the momentum of the large ball on its tip, indicating he was alert and ready to jump onto the offensive.

Their makeshift arena in the town square, while nothing spectacular, provided a simple space that lent itself to the battle. The central area, laden with faded bricks, compared in size to a regular League-standard ring. A perimeter of cherry blossom trees enclosed the square, with an opening to exit on each side, creating a feeling of intimate closeness that implicitly limited them to their immediate surroundings.

She realized, this being her first true battle outside of the wilds they'd fought while traveling Route 29, that this was what a battle was supposed to be. An isolated space, almost disconnected from the normal world, where both competitors were absorbed into the fight. Within the arena, nothing else really mattered. At least, that's what she was told it was like, but she couldn't help feeling that part of that exaggeration was true.

The spotlights beneath the trees shined upwards around them, casting shadows across her and Ethan's faces. It was quite dramatic for what boiled down to a catfight between children.

"Are you sure you don't want any restrictions for the battle?" she asked her travel companion.

Ethan fidgeted a bit, not sure what to say. "I mean, it's last one standing, right? One of us wins when their Pokémon is the last one on the battlefield. That's how it works."

"I know, but I'm just making sure," she said. One hand was in her pocket. She extended the other to command. "Maron, get up close. You have the advantage in close-quarters combat."

With the short intermission over, her blue rodent bounded back into action. He hopped across the bricks in a zig-zag pattern, which Marigold struggled to follow. Her leaf powered up again in reaction.

"Slow him down, girl!" Ethan shouted. His partner wildly fired off another volley of leaves to no avail, as Maron weaved through the deviating ranged attacks. One, however, flew directly into her partner's path as he landed on a brick.

Think fast, she thought. "Bounce with your tail, dodge, and get close!" she commanded.

The structure of a Marill's tail allowed it to be retracted and expanded like a spring, which could be used both as an offensive weapon and a mobility tool. The latter case proved to be useful, and with a surprising deftness given her Pokémon's awkward size and speed, he planted his tail into the brick, retracted, and released the tension to jump. He bounced high over the oncoming projectile and landed directly in front of her opponent, catching her by surprise.

The stage was all hers. "Use Tackle!"

Maron powered into his opponent with his entire body, scoring a direct hit of his own. It was clear that the force of his Tackle was far greater than his Bubble attack and the impact sent Marigold into the trees behind her trainer. The Chikorita caught herself on a branch and hung by her forelimbs.

Ethan broke from the battle and ignored Lyra and her partner. Her Marill waddled back towards her and the two stood confused as they watched his display. He ran towards the trees, standing with open arms under his Pokémon. "Here, I'll catch you. You can drop down!"

"Hey, Ethan, I'm not sure that kind of interference is legal in an actual match," she said.

Marigold dropped from the branch into his waiting arms. He bounced the Chikorita around much like a parent would their young infant, having seemingly forgotten about the battle in its entirety.

It surprised her how quickly Pokémon and trainer had grown fond of each other. They'd known each other for less than a week but were already best of friends. It helped that both of them were jolly airheads—similarities were one of the primary causes of friendships, after all. The two enjoyed their impromptu playtime for nearly a minute before her traveling companion realized that they were still in the middle of something. He looked like a Stantler in headlights as he locked eyes with her.

"You done?" she asked.

"Uhh…" he slowly placed Marigold back on the ground, who ran back into position across from Maron. "Yes. Probably." He scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous chuckle.

"You're an idiot," she said.

"Yeah, I think I get that a lot," he stated as he himself returned to a ready state on their makeshift battlefield.

Both Pokémon were running out of steam. Maron looked worse for the wear, still feeling the impact of the direct Razor Leaf hit, and while Marigold tried to remain energetic, her panting was clearly visible. Neither would last in the battle much longer, but both looked ready to carry on.

In the short time the battle had taken, night had fallen over the city of Cherrygrove. The contrast between the spotlights and the blackness only intensified. It was nearly getting to her and disoriented her visual sense. She was tired, but as much as she wanted to lie down and pass out, their battle wasn't over, and she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to finish a game she was guaranteed to win. It was time to decide the victor.

"Let's go, Maron! Charge and use Pound!" She ordered.

"Meet the charge, Marigold! Focus your energy in your leaf!" Ethan countered.

The duelists broke into full-on sprints across the square, neither attempting to dodge nor throw off their opponent's charge. Valiant, jousting knights, just as Ethan had alluded to, met head-on in the center of the square. One would stand, one would fall.

As the two collided, her Marill rotated his body and carried his forward momentum into the weight of the ball on its tail. The swinging weapon arced around in the direct path of the Chikorita's head. Simultaneously, rather than firing a Razor Leaf, Marigold maintained her green, grassy energy in her own leaf as an improvised move and swung it towards Maron's body. Both attacks connected in unison.

The photo finish saw both Pokémon frozen as they absorbed their blows. Lyra held in her breath, waiting for the outcome.

However, the one that came was unexpected. Two Pokémon fell defeated onto the brick floor of the square. Ethan and Lyra rushed towards the center to tend to their valiant fighters.

"Are you okay?" they both asked with concern while propping up their Pokémon.

Maron had collapsed, obviously completely drained of energy after taking multiple super-effective attacks in succession. She pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks so much, Maron. You were great out there, and I'm going to get you to a Pokémon Center to rest for the night," she said to her partner, who silently nuzzled into her stomach in response. "You're getting so strong already, and I'm so proud."

Ethan was similarly showering his own Pokémon with praise. Pokémon battling really was a bonding experience, and she felt a closer connection to her partner as a result. Despite a trainer being effectively a coach to an independent athlete, both trainer and Pokémon worked in sync to accomplish their goal. But, the Pokémon were still the primary actors, so they deserved all of the love and praise humans could give them.

Ethan looked up from Marigold. She had fallen asleep from her own exhaustion in his arms. "I guess nobody wins the name right, huh? I never thought that it would end in a tie, but at least it's a new experience for both of us."

"Oh, please," she said, deviously. From in her pocket, she fished out the second Poké Ball she was carrying and clicked the capsule open. Red light condensed into the golden, dollop-shaped form of a Sunkern. "Ethan, meet Ray. He's the last one on the battlefield."

Her friend sat dumbfounded, staring into the glossy, bead-like eyes of the Sunkern. The round plant creature looked vaguely confused, vaguely curious, vaguely excited. A groan indicated how quickly Ethan gave up. "I agreed to no party restrictions, didn't I?"

"Yes. This is what you get for dragging me into this."

"Geez, I'm an idiot," he declared.

"Glad to know we're still on the same page." Lyra laughed hysterically.

* * *

Ciel's finger hovered over the keyboard. It was shaking, and the jitter carried through his entire body. Sweat was forming on his brow, his vision was going blank, his heart raced, his blood pressure skyrocketed.

Brent stood over his shoulder with a sympathetic expression. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? You can still back out and save yourself. It's too dangerous," he offered, begging his friend not to put himself on the line.

"I have to. If I don't do it now, it'll come for me eventually. There's no escape," he lamented, "and it's all my fault. I made the choice to go down this path and to let my sins catch up to me. I have to face the music."

"You poor soul. May you rest in peace," Brent said quietly, before looking away. He couldn't bear to see the horror that was about to unfold.

Ciel pushed his index finger downward. It felt like it fell for eternity, until the "call" key clicked.

No ringtone. No lag time. The call monitor exploded in volume as the booming, hallowing voice released the only utterance scarier than imminent death.

_"CIEL! VERGLAS! FAUDER!"_

He was nearly blown backwards off his feet and cowered in fear at his full name. His friend had also felt the full impact of the shout and was shaking by the seat of his pants. Taking a quick glance around, the entire body of passersby in the Pokémon Center had turned to stare at them and the public monitor the call was broadcasting with. The front counter nurse gave the two of them a dirty look. It only made him feel further embarrassed.

Mothers always used a specific look. That look. Plastered on her face was an expression halfway between homicidal and deeply concerned, interlaced with mixes of embarrassment, dictatorial rage, and some tiny shred of buried love. He hoped there was more of the latter than she let on, because the judgement her sharp eyes were casting felt like an afterlife spirit threatening to reincarnate him into a mushroom for his misgivings. Or sentence him to the fiery pit for all eternity. Or just make him float forever in the endless void. It was over.

_"You haven't called me in five. Whole. Days. I was getting ready to contract the International Police to sweep the entire Johto Region to find your sorry behind! Where in the world were you, young man? You should have gotten to Cherrygrove no later than yesterday, but there was no call. I canceled my first official day of work to sit at home and wait for you to connect to my damn cell, and nothing ever came through. Do you know what that feels like? You could have gotten eaten alive by a horde of Hoothoot or collapsed due to exposure to the elements and it nearly gave me a heart attack. Forty-three-year-olds are not supposed be at risk for heart attacks!"_

As much as he wanted to, he didn't have the heart to tell her that he  _did_  almost get eaten alive by a horde of Hoothoot. She didn't have the heart either, apparently.

_"Well? Answer me, young man? Where were you?"_

Brent slowly leaned in from the side and slid into visibility of the camera, as shown in the playback. "Uh, hi..."

His mother's demeanor changed entirely. The woman coughed and quickly adjusted the collar of her robe, trying to show some amount of composure in front of a stranger.  _"Hello. Who is this, Ciel?"_

"H-his name's Brent," Ciel managed shakily. "I met him in Cherrygrove. We, uh—" he stammered.

"We hitched a ride on a truck directly from Cherrygrove to Violet," the other Trainer said, completing his own thought. "I kind of dragged him along with me after we talked for a while."

"I thought it was better than walking?" Ciel offered.

His mother paused. He watched her full process of decompression, starting with pinching the bridge of her nose and then puffing her cheeks to let out an audible—and disappointed—sigh. She ran a hand through her hair.

 _"You are a handful, Ciel,"_  she stated, simply.  _"I need to get you a Poké GEAR, or something else that can receive calls."_

"Thanks, mom. I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner," he said. It was genuine. He did feel awful about scaring her, and he'd intentionally blown off calling her when they got to Cherrygrove.

 _"It's alright, honey. I'd just like you to be a bit more mindful next time. And, hey, you've already made a friend! I'm so proud,"_  she waved at Brent, who reciprocated awkwardly.  _"However, I wouldn't recommend you take the easy route so often. If you want to become a better trainer, you're not going to find any better experience than testing yourself against wild Pokémon. They're much less predictable than the average trained one and much more plentiful, especially on most League routes."_

"We did fight some wilds that were bothering us on the truck ride, and I managed to catch one. A Pidgey. I still need a name for him."

 _"A name?"_  His mother placed her hand on her chin, thinking for a moment.  _"Ace? Jet? Sky?"_

Brent chimed in. "Those seem a bit heavy-handed on the whole 'bird' thing. Bird Pokémon are graceful and calm, usually, so try something like that."

The three of them used the nickname as a talking point for a while, throwing ideas back and forth about what to name the new member of Ciel's party. He wouldn't have expected the odd situation to foster conversation so well, but his mother and new friend got along well enough, and it felt reassuring to him just to know he could still talk to his mother on occasion. Eventually, they settled on the name "Clovis," which his mother informed him was the first name of one of her primary school teachers. It did sound like an old person's name, but he liked the majestic ring to it.

Between the deliberation, they digressed to other topics, such as he and his family's recent move. She seemed to be intentionally avoiding mentioning her role as a Gym Leader for whatever reason, so he quietly obliged not to mention. Brent shared a bit more about himself as well. Apparently, he was currently in college, but was taking a break with a year-long program to train.

His mother yawned, and soon the contagion caused both he and Brent to do the same. It was getting late. "I need to get to sleep. I'm going to try to challenge the Gym tomorrow, I think," he announced.

 _"Are you nervous?"_  his mother asked.

"A little bit. I don't know how it's going to go, but I'm also excited."

 _"This is a big step,"_  she said.  _"Don't take it lightly, but make sure to have some fun."_

"I will mom. Love you."

He heard a noise—a door opening—through the screen, something that caught his mother's attention. She looked away from the screen and said something, before returning her attention to the call.  _"Your father just came home. Would you like to talk to him as well before you go?"_

He knew what this was. She did this all the time, and she knew what terms the two were on. What a joke. As if that would solve any problems.

"No, I'm—" He hesitated, almost wanting to get angry. "I'm fine. I'll be going now."

The woman almost looked disappointed but offered a small smile. "That's okay. Just… consider talking to him at some point, okay? I love you, Ciel," she said, before the screen went dark.

He turned to his friend, who had an expression of understanding about him. Just as Ciel hadn't pressed him about it, he considerately abstained himself and switched topics immediately. He shoved his hands into his pockets, leaned back to stretch, and let rip another huge yawn. The man was probably just as tired as he was. "What's the plan for tomorrow? Are you sure you want to go for the Gym so soon?" he asked.

Ciel nodded, somewhat surprised at his own confidence. "Yeah. At worst, if I lose, I know what I'm in for and can train to match. I think it's the average that most people lose one two or two of each Gym battle before they obtain the badge."

"Want me to go with? I'm going to have to get around to fighting the Gym Leader myself," the man suggested.

"No, I'm going to go early in the morning. You should sleep in. Besides, I think I want to do it alone first. It'll give me some time to do some thinking."

The truth is, since Raven had acted up during their travel, he hadn't even taken her out of her Poké Ball for a while. He had ignored facing the problem head-on and working it out what the expectations were between the two partners, so he needed some time alone to sit down and talk with her. As much as he had enjoyed Brent's company the previous day, it was his job as a trainer to guide his Pokémon, and he'd been too focused on the thrill of his newfound freedom to do that.

There was some hard work he was already starting to ignore, and he planned to set himself back on track, especially with such a long road ahead of him. His first Gym battle. His first major test. His first step. It was his, and his alone. Well, his and his Pokémon. We're a team, he reminded himself. It's time to make it so.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts to notice Brent already walking away. "Wait, where are you going?" Ciel asked confusedly.

"You started to space, so I decided to let you figure that out. I'll see you tomorrow, Ciel!" he shouted behind him with a chuckle. He waved and disappeared down the hall of the Pokémon Center towards the residential section. This left him alone in the large lobby to introspect some more.

Ciel smiled to himself. Despite a rough few days, he'd found himself a reliable friend and was ready to go all-out. Just like the day he'd left Mahogany the week prior, it was a kind of new beginning for him. He'd be ready early in the morning to test his mettle and give him a starting point to grow.

He held up his bag, from which a foul odor was beginning to permeate. But first, he thought, I  _really_  need to do my laundry.

* * *

Armed with a fresh set of clothes, a wad of cash in his pocket, and with a fist curled at his side, Ciel craned his head skyward. It followed the form of the massive structure before him until he was staring into the dawn sky. Rather than being a standardized building like a few Gyms he'd seen prior, the Violet City Gym was a towering behemoth that blocked out the rising sun. He stood in the shadow of the building, which had a tiered pagoda structure and purple roof siding.

Unfortunately, that morning had paralleled the day he left to travel a little too much. He found himself unable to sleep well and had woken up at five in the morning, deciding on a whim to go out rather than lie in bed for a few more pointless hours. Fortunately, if the word of the Pokémon Center nurse was anything to go by, the Gym also opened at the crack of dawn. Lucky him.

He released Raven from her Poké Ball, and the Absol materialized sprawled onto the ground, a holdover from the surprised prone position she had last been recalled in. The sudden shift in time and place left her disoriented, but the first thing she did upon readjusting was growl at him. Angrily.

"Yeah, nice to see you too. I still can't get the smell of repellant out of my hair," Ciel said while rolling his eyes. However, he realized that being unpleasant to his partner wouldn't serve them working together. "Look, we're about to do our first Gym Battle, and you're gonna need to work with me."

He sat down on the ground with his legs crossed. The white-coated Pokémon growled again, but this time more softly. He could reasonably interpret it as a begrudging admission, but he didn't claim to be an expert at Pokémon communication.

"We've been having a few problems recently, right? It feels like you aren't listening to me sometimes. I know that you may not be used to this structured battle thing since we didn't battle often before, but things are different now than they used to be, and this next battle is really going to test the way we work together."

Ciel sighed, not really sure what else to say and not even sure if his Pokémon was hearing him speak. She was currently cleaning her paw and not making eye contact. "I know you. Just like when we first met, you want to get stronger and prove that you're the best. You stood up to that big, scary Arbok that was about to take a bite out of me and you showed him who was boss. I thought you were the coolest, strongest Pokémon around. Remember that?"

That got her attention. Raven was now staring intently at him, and he took that as his opportunity. "I want to get better too. We have a lot in common. So, just…" he struggled to find the words, "let's just commit to working as a team."

After a moment of stillness in which it appeared she was considering his words, she put her broad legs forward and stretched hard in a similar motion to other feline Pokémon. He put his head in his hand and huffed. "You know, sometimes it's really hard to get a read on you," Ciel muttered. Tentatively, he reached forward and scratched the side of her head above the sickle, causing Raven to begin purring at the physical affection.

The moment didn't last too long as he was pretty eager to get going. The young trainer stood tall, pumped his fist in front of him and grinned ear to ear. "It's time to battle. Are you with me?"

Unceremoniously, his partner picked herself up off the pavement and wandered towards the sliding door, which opened automatically with her presence. She stepped inside, and he quickly gathered himself to follow.

As he stepped through the entrance to the Violet Gym, he found himself astounded by the open space inside. He and Raven stood on a wooden platform that constituted what appeared to be the only solid architecture inside the building. A few feet away from where they were standing, the platform gave way into blackness, a pit that led even further beneath ground to a basement level. In front of him, a mechanical platform on a track lead upwards towards a series of upper walkways. Connected to the vertical walls of the tower were wooden support beams that crisscrossed every which way, connecting to and from the various walkable structures for support. The largest of which, a gargantuan square object suspended above him, he assumed to be the battlefield.

With no one to welcome him, he turned to Raven, who was already making her way to the elevator platform. He shrugged to himself and followed suit, standing unsteadily onto the mechanism. Without prompting, it began its slow ascent upwards.

Trainer and Pokémon rose through the tower. Ciel found himself staring at his feet, finding himself much more nervous than he thought. After all, challenging the Gyms was the entire reason for the adventure across the region. It was like an impending school test—this battle would be the first metric of everything he had learned so far, however little or much that may be, and it was daunting. Hopefully he and Raven would fare better against Falkner than they had against Pryce.

When the elevator clunkily stopped at the mechanisms apex, he was surprised to find that the mess of support beams and crossing structures was much more straightforward from this angle. From their position, the Gym was laid out as a collection of wooden pathways towards the battlefield.

And all of them, he realized, had nothing to stop someone from falling straight off. Maybe it was a bit too late to recollect on the fact that he didn't do heights well.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped precariously onto the path directly before him. Looking down, he could see only the blackness of the pit below him, causing his vision to blur, but as much as he wanted to look away, he needed to keep his eyes down to put one foot in front of the other. Slowly but surely, he guided himself along the planks leading to the center stage.

Raven, being the show-off she was, followed behind him and outdid him completely. Using her own nimbleness, she easily caught each platform and hopped between gaps that he wouldn't dare try to cross. The best he could do was focus on himself and continue walking, but he tried to pick up the pace, feeling slightly more comfortable with his stability. It was like a tightrope, but with a little more solid footing.

His foot slipped. A scream escaped his lips as his balance faltered and he tumbled over the side. At the last minute, he threw his arms out and caught the top of the plank he was standing on under his armpits. His breathing was erratic as his legs dangled below him into the blackness.

"There's a net. You don't have to freak," a voice called out across the Gym, but he was too focused on other things to find out who it belonged to.

Ciel gradually pulled himself up from the plank and crouched uneasily, keeping both of his arms connected for contact points. He looked up to find that he was surprisingly close to the central platform and that someone was standing in wait, so he once again swallowed his hesitation and booked it—carefully—the rest of the way, jumping with a short hop onto the central platform of the gym. The elliptical shape carved into it told him everything he needed to know. The battlefield. Since it was suspended by strong cables from the tower walls as well as support beams, he knew the platform was solid enough, but it still left him tense.

He stared forwards and his eyes locked with the man whose voice he heard before. He wore long blue hair that fell messily over his eyes and a similarly blue outfit of a gi and a loose robe. His eyes, however, were even more striking. They felt judgmental and predatory, much like a large bird. Fitting. Ciel knew he specialized in avian Pokémon.

"You're here early," he said. "I haven't even gotten a chance to get settled."

Ciel was panting from the mental unpreparedness of the fall but he slowly gathered himself enough to speak. "Is the death trap really necessary?"

The man crossed his arms, clearly displeased. "Of course. It's great at dissuading random nobodies from waltzing inside and wasting my time. Normally, I'd have my aides here to help with that, but you're early enough to have missed them. Congratulations."

What kind of tone was that? Ciel thought Gym Leaders were supposed to be kind mentor characters to help trainers improve. And here he was saying straight out that he  _doesn't_  want people to challenge him?

"Anyway, proper introductions are in order. My name is Falkner, just as my father was named Falkner and my grandfather before him was named Falkner. This is my family's Gym, and to challenge me is to challenge the knowledge of magnificent bird Pokémon passed through the Falkner family for generations."

"Yeah," he said, dryly and still catching his breath, "I'll keep that in mind."

The Gym Leader pointed to Raven, who had landed on the battle platform far before him and had already lied down for a nap. "I assume that one's yours. I've never fought one before."

"I'm led to believe they aren't very common," he said. If the Gym Leader had never battled her species before, it meant he had the element of surprise, right? He thought for a second that he'd have a chance of winning his first Gym Battle before he snuffed that immediately. No need to get overconfident.

"How many Pokémon do you plan to battle with?" the man asked.

Three. Wait, maybe not. He hadn't even gotten an opportunity to release Clovis from his Poké Ball since he'd been caught the day before. He was led to believe that it took some time for Wild Pokémon to get acquainted with new trainers and probably wouldn't listen to or even understand his commands until they'd settled and trained. "Two," he eventually said. He'd stick with Raven and Arden for this battle.

"Very well. I shall use two as well. Do we begin, then?" The Gym Leader asked. It proved to be rhetorical as the man had already withdrawn an oddly-colored, orange capsule from his robe. Without hesitation, he threw the ball at the ground, and as the button hit the floor of the arena the device popped open with a buzzing sound that echoed through the spacious tower.

A high-pitched screech punctuated the appearance of a large bird of prey. It flared its wings wide and bared claws on the surface of the floating battlefield. It was simultaneously majestic and terrifying, with a large tail and a red crown flaring behind its head. He marveled at the Pidgeotto, the evolved form of his own Flying-type.

Raven took it upon herself to jump in front of him and prepare for battle, evidently more excited than he was to get this going. Ciel recognized what she saw in front of her: a worthy challenge.

Falkner held up a hand in a "pause" gesture. He was about to order an attack to start the battle but stopped in confusion. "Hold a moment," he said curtly.

The two didn't have to wait long, as movement behind him brought his attention to a slightly overweight man who had also crossed the mazework of wooden pathways. He and the Gym Leader exchanged glances and he fell into a position to the right of his side of the ring while retrieving some multicolored flags from his pockets to hold at his side. Ciel could only assume he was the referee. Most official matches had referees present to prevent any unnecessary harm to Pokémon and to call out participants on misconduct. The man's presence helped heighten the idea that this was an important, life-changing battle. Ciel looked towards Falkner for approval, and the man nodded.

The referee held a green flag high into the air. "Battle… begin!" he shouted as he chopped the flag downwards.

Raven fell into battle position, angling her sickle to face her opponent and holding low to the ground. She hardly had time to react, however, before their opponent called the first move.

"Tenku, Aerial Ace! Aim high."

The bird launched itself from the ground directly into the air above. Upon reaching the apex of its flight, it flared its wings violently outward, before tucking suddenly and diving in an instant.

So fast! Ciel wasn't sure either of them could keep up with its movements once it got into the air. "Slash!" he ordered. He left it up to her to decide the application.

The Pidgeotto rocketed past Raven and she bared her weapon in defense. The Flying-type unexpectedly pulled its trajectory upwards and soared past both trainer and Pokémon, throwing off Raven's attempted swipe with her sickle. She spun on her heels to follow the mobile enemy that was now hovering away from the floating platform.

"Gust!" Falkner shouted from across the ring. His Pokémon beat its powerful wings forward to release a concentrated wind in their direction.

Ciel, realizing he was now in the path of battle, dove away from the attack's path towards the edge of the ring, his Pokémon doing the same in the opposite direction. Raven kept her sickle aimed at the opponent, trying not to lose the figure of Falkner's Pidgeotto despite its quick movement.

He turned to the Gym Leader, who had a confident smirk plastered on his face. The man extended a hand to command. "Use Gust, again! Keep the air moving!"

The repeated Flying-type attacks sent winds across the arena from multiple directions, continually assaulting Raven. Her fur was sent every which way, puffing outward as she nimbly weaved in and out of the waves of air. She tried to keep her eyes on the Pidgeotto, but Ciel noticed that her tracking was faltering, even though the telegraphed Gusts themselves weren't difficult to avoid. Falkner wasn't just going to do this forever, was he? As long as her opponent was in the air, Raven was relatively helpless.

"Close in, Tenku. Use your talons!"

Following the path of one of the Gusts, the Pidgeotto swooped down and began its onslaught. Less trainer-guided now, it swiped at Raven with its claws, landing on the ground at regular intervals and brawling it out. Raven was still having difficult following her opponent, despite it now being right in front of her. She took numerous small scratches and cuts all around her body, seemingly unable to properly defend herself. However, the next swipe was more telegraphed than the others as Falkner's Pidgeotto reeled back with intent.

This was their chance! "Use Bite, Raven!" he ordered, leaving it to her own intuition to catch the erratic movement.

Though disoriented, his Pokémon jumped at the right opportunity. As it lunged for one more attack, she clamped her jaw down hard on the wind of the Pidgeotto. It worked! Surprised, the bird began flailing in panic, and she rotated and tossed its body away to give herself space.

"Raven, you okay?" he called out in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. She snuck a glance back at him. "I don't know what happened, but you don't look like you're following well. Are you hurt?" The concern was clear in his voice, and he was considering withdrawing her from battle.

"She isn't hurt severely. I'm just dulling her senses and preventing her from reading our actions," the Gym Leader announced.

"How is that possible if you've never fought an Absol before? How do you know how?" Ciel asked, incredulously.

"Lesson one!" he shouted across the arena. "The key to being a Pokémon Trainer is to be perceptive, to notice patterns, to be able to understand even an unfamiliar situation and adapt. Your Pokémon constantly angled her body to keep that horn of hers focused on us, and her head shape is asymmetrical. Simply put, that horn is also an ear."

Ciel stared down at his own Pokémon, now noticing the meaning behind her battle stance. Logically, a Pokémon would try to keep as much sensory information as possible and not be blind sighted throughout a battle. How had he not noticed that before?

"If she only has one ear, and even if it's powerful, it means that her hearing isn't as dynamic as other Pokémon that rely on it. With constant winds firing at her, her hearing is dampened as sound waves are disrupted. Feline Pokémon that also use smell are already at a disadvantage in an open arena like this where the air is flowing, and I've continually flushed any odors that might sharpen her spatial senses." As he finished his explanation, the man crossed his arms. "In other words, try to catch us. Tenku, take flight!"

They couldn't lose it again! "Quick Attack!" he shouted.

Raven shot forward at incredible speeds upon hearing the command and struck the bird with a rake of her claw just as it managed to get airborne again. He was surprised by the speed difference, and he noted that Raven could outspeed the bird on the ground. However, despite the hit, the Pidgeotto hovered far in the air above Falkner again and left them back where they started, except that Raven had already taken some repeated damage.

"Tenku, Aerial Ace! Low!"

If high meant an intentional miss, he knew what low meant. "Dodge!"

Unfortunately, just as Raven was slightly faster from a standing position, the Pidgeotto outsped her from the air. The attack landed directly in his Absol's side as she tried to dodge, sending her tumbling across the floor of the arena. She lied motionless—it was clear that she wasn't going to be able to continue the fight. The referee held out a yellow flag and announced loudly, "the challenger's Pokémon is unable to battle. Please send out another."

He nodded and made the quick switch. "Return, Raven," he said. She seemed to defy the ruling for a moment and tried to get up again, but he walked to her side and assured her just to rest. With a smile and another pat on the head, he congratulated her for her good work. He recalled her to the capsule, noting that they'd sit around to rest for the remainder of the day after stopping by the Pokémon Center. Afterwards, he held out Arden's Poké Ball and released his excitable Cyndaquil.

Arden ignited upon release and squealed, as per usual and stared down the opponent Pidgeotto. The flames across its back raged and curled against the circulating air of the tower. By that point, the morning sun had risen high, and he only just realized that the tower was lined with rows of thin windows that began flooding the interior with rays of sunlight. A bright line shined across the platform.

It wouldn't be likely that they'd win this battle. Raven was his partner and his most powerful Pokémon, so if she couldn't meet the challenge, he wasn't sure Arden had any chance. But, he reasoned that any amount of practice would help them improve, especially since he  _had_  performed better here than against Pryce's Piloswine. Curling a fist at his side, he waited as the referee once again swung down the green flag, and the battle resumed.

"Use Ember!" he ordered. His Cyndaquil proficiency with ranged attacks would be more useful against a flying foe. He planned to take full advantage of that.

Arden angled his snout and released multiple arcing puffs of fire. Most were skillfully dodged by the opponent without prompting, but a few of the scattered projectiles singed the Flying-type's side, due in part to his Cyndaquil's erratic nature. His excitability and twitchiness made his aiming unreliable, but also unpredictable.

"Tailwind!" Falkner commanded.

His Pokémon maneuvered backwards and hovered over the platform on their side of the arena. By extending its wings to their full span and powering beating its wing muscles, it began changing the air currents in the room. Unlike the Gusts, which were concentrated bursts of air, the Pidgeotto was angling the wind around the battlefield almost entirely in their direction. The effect was immediate. Under the pressure of the wind, Arden's back flames began to flicker, unable to catch as well as before. The Fire-type tried to power his flame sacs, but each ignition under the wind pressure dissipated into the air behind him. Ciel knew that without his flames firing, Arden wouldn't be able to use his Fire-type attacks as effectively.

What other options did he have? Had he been shut down again? Ciel knew much less about Arden's moveset than Raven's due to how long much time he'd spent with the latter, leaving him struggling to know what exactly the small mammalian Pokémon was capable of. "Try Ember again!" he called, not sure what else to do.

Arden attempted to launch more flames, only for half of them to fizzle out before leaving his snout and the remainder struggling to remain lit amongst the powerful wind.

Falkner had that smirk again. "Lesson two!" he continued. "Always keep in mind the way Types can be used. Fire isn't expressly weak to Flying physiologically, but flames interact with air in interesting ways. Most new trainers forget or ignore the advantages and disadvantages to a well-thought Type matchup, and it can leave you defenseless." Falkner tilted his head up to his Pokémon, who was now hovering close to him. "Close the gap, Tenku. You're free to approach."

The powerful bird spread its wings and rocketed town towards the arena again, its speed amplified by the wind at its back. It scraped its talons across the floating platform as it neared, baring them towards its opponent.

Without even calling a command, he watched Arden curl himself into a ball. The defensive posture didn't seem like it would make a difference, but the smaller form actually threw off Falkner's Pokémon enough to cause it to miss. Though he received a cut along his back, his reactionary gesture avoided further harm. That was a move, wasn't it? He remembered seeing something similar to it on TV. Defense Curl?

A look crossed the Gym Leader's face, one Ciel could only help but fear. He'd noticed something again. "Tenku, it's time to finish this. Ground yourself as close as possible."

The bird, following his command exactly, circled around the arena and dove directly for Arden once again, but instead of lashing out to attack it planted itself firmly on the ground in front of the Cyndaquil. The Pidgeotto bared its massive wings once again, giving off an imposing form.

"Use Gust, point blank!"

The size difference between Arden and Raven meant the former was substantially lighter, and Falkner knew that. The sheer force of the wing motion so close dislodged Arden's contact to the ground and flung him high into the air, sending him soaring clear over the edge of the arena into the pit below.

Ciel yelled after the form of his Pokémon going over the edge. He stared over the platform into the abyss and watched Arden fall into the blackness.

Falkner's voice behind him issued another command. "Tenku, catch."

With another powerful wing beat, Falkner's Pidgeotto itself dived through the tower, plummeting between the network of support beams that held up the platforms. Though he couldn't see well, he saw the two distant figures connect, and seconds later, Arden had been returned to the platform on the back of his opponent.

The referee chopped down with a blue flag. "The challenger's Pokémon is declared defeated by ring-out! The victory goes to the Gym Leader!"

He rushed to the side of Arden as soon as the battle ended and scooped up the creature into his arms. His flames were still flickering, but it gave Ciel an opportunity to scratch his head as a congratulatory gesture. Arden had tried his best, but unfortunately neither of his Pokémon, nor himself, were at the level needed.

It was over. They'd lost. He hadn't even managed to see what the Gym Leader's second Pokémon was. However, he strangely felt more energized than ever. There was so much information to take in. Falkner had purposely intended to show him and his team what exactly they could be faced with and had explained his thought process thoroughly.

Ciel recalled Arden and met in the center of the ring to shake the man's hand. The Gym Leader's expression looked much softer than before.

"You have a long way to go, but I'd say there's potential in your battle style," Falkner said.

"Why did you explain your strategy?" he asked, both confused and curious.

"It doesn't benefit me nor the Pokémon League if you never learn and improve. Gym Battles are supposed to be tests of your skills, but at the same time, they teach you knew ones," he explained. "You likely wouldn't have noticed the nuances in your Pokémon or their moves unless they were pointed out, because it's not something easy to look for at first. Learning by example and guidance is how I learned, and how my father learned before me, and how my grandfather learned before him."

Ciel nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Ciel handed him some of the Pokédollars in his pocket, a customary gesture of goodwill after most battles. The man walked back over to his side of the ring and returned to his position as an intimidating champion, the visage of teacher gone once again. "I hope to see you back here soon."

With that in mind, he turned away from the battlefield.

Just like his battle with Pryce, that battle was physical proof of where he stood as a trainer. His first week of travel had given him a few things but that was only one half of what he knew needed to be done. It was time to buckle down and to give all his effort to improving his skills as a trainer and connecting with his team. He figured that this was the point where his role as a Pokémon trainer truly began.

There was a lot of work to do, but that daunting challenge only made him more excited to start again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Behold! A long-ass chapter!**
> 
> **Writing multiple battle scenes within such a short space is definitely exhausting sometimes. No matter how enjoyable Pokemon Battles can be to display in a novel format, it really does wear after a while. Good thing is that the next chapter doesn't contain any major battles, so it's both refreshing in pacing and in underlying construction. It's also about at this point that I really start to consider how well I'm displaying characters and their respective conflicts since I have an established base for everything by now, so the next few chapters will probably be more character focused.**
> 
> **If it suits you, drop a comment about what you liked and/or disliked. Any amount of feedback is helpful for me as a writer.**
> 
> **Next time - Chapter 6: Swallowed in Darkness. See you then!**


	6. Swallowed in Darkness

The artificial light flickered just slightly inside the pristine office. Wall paneling resembled any high-class office building and the atmosphere felt nearly identical, if not for the fact that they were multiple stories below ground. A mature, red-haired woman sat in a nice chair in front of a nice desk, wearing nice clothing and smoking a nice cigar. It was all bourgeois and shit. She took a drag and blew, causing the young man standing opposite her desk to fan the air. She took a long time to begin to speak.

"It took you long enough to make your way down to my office," she chided. It was said playfully, but anyone with half a brain cell could realize the undertone. Don't do it again. He got it.

She took another drag and continued. "As you probably already guessed, you've got your first operation ahead of you, and you can thank Archer's busy schedule for leaving it to you. Consider it a hazing."

He nearly struggled to find his words. Just being in the presence of the woman was surprisingly difficult, what with the aura she exuded and the smoke. He wouldn't bother complain about either to her face, but she made it clear she meant business. "Of course, Miss Ariana."

The boss laid out a folder on the table for him. Standard procedure. He skimmed through the materials for a moment—some schedules for local law enforcement in Azalea Town and private property layouts, a few he recognized from mining the town authority's private network himself. He wondered why she was collecting this information in the first place. What business did they have nosing around an old well?

"We're going to be relocating some Slowpoke tails," she said. Relocating was just business jargon for poaching, he surmised. "I have plans to get our little organization back out of its temporary grave, but we'll need funding to negotiate with. I've found a buyer in Orre that's willing to take tails off our hands."

"Isn't that a little out of my skill-set? You took me onboard as a hacker, not as muscle," he retorted, reflexively. His eyes widened as he realized the mistake.

No distinct emotion crossed her face, but her eyes found him. He could see the fury hidden behind them, the daggers thrown invisibly. Miss Ariana tapped the cigar on her ashtray. "I'd suggest you keep your mouth shut and follow orders. You're lucky that your computer skills impress me so much, so you don't want to make me regret making you an executive."

He pulled his black cap a little lower on his head of teal hair. "Right. I'll get to it, boss," he affirmed.

"However," the boss continued, "it's not all sour. Since it's your first true job for us, you'll have a little bit of help with you to keep things running smoothly." He heard her tap her foot on the hardwood floor.

Ariana's office door opened and inside stepped someone he can't recall ever seeing before, despite having been working with the Rocket Syndicate for nearly half a year. His gaze trained on the newcomer. A woman, wearing a strange robe, heels, and slicked-back violet locks. He felt himself shake from his core when her lips curled upwards into a smile.

Her features were indescribably sinister, seeming jagged and sharp from every angle. He was one to trust his intuition, and it told him at first glance that this lady was bad news from all accounts. It scared the fuck outta him.

"Ahem," Miss Ariana sounded to get his attention. "This is Agent Vampire, a secret weapon of mine that I like to keep around. She'll be the enforcer of this little task."

It wasn't to enforce the operation, of course. It was to keep him in line, since the boss still considered him an unknown. Part of him didn't blame her for not trusting a college kid whose only claim to fame was knowing his way around some firewalls.

"That's all I have for you," the boss announced as she leaned back into her chair and took another drag from the cigar. "You're dismissed, and I hope you'll get everything in order soon. I'm not expecting a poor job."

As fast as he could manage without it seeming rude, he excused himself from the boss's office and tried to ignore the threatening "enforcer" following his footsteps down the hall. He kept his head down and tried to keep his distance, but as the base opened into one of the many common areas, he realized he had to buckle down, swallow his fear, and show that he meant business. He didn't end up becoming the "coolest guy in the Rocket Syndicate" by acting like a pussy.

He stopped for a moment and took in a deep breath. You're making a name for yourself here, kid. It was the most notorious gig he could take, and it was making him a shit-ton of money, so he knew it wasn't any time to back down. Rocket was where he belonged now.

You can do this, Proton, he told himself. He threw away his real name in favor of the only identity that mattered now.

* * *

A squeak was followed by the release of a large fireball that crossed their training ground. The flame looked substantially larger than usual and exploded as it impacted the ground. Ciel blinked.

"Arden, what exactly was that?" he asked in confusion.

His Pokémon tilted his head, before testing the waters by spitting another flame. This was one was normal sized and veered off target to splash into the lake. Ciel retrieved his pen and marked the occurrence down in the notebook to revisit later. He'd purchased it at a general store in town along with some other supplies so he could record strategies, almost reminding him of searching for school supplies for an upcoming semester. It had been a while.

He already had another interesting note from a couple of days ago he hadn't managed to replicate in which Arden released a cloud of smoke—while belching, of course—that blanketed the area around him. After a bit of research using a computer in the Pokémon Center, he'd learned that it and similar moves were called Smokescreen, which were supposed to reduce the accuracy of Pokémon on the battlefield due to obscured vision. Maybe it could be useful in the same way Falkner had mentioned messing with the enemy's senses?

He and his team were training on an isolated island sitting inside a small lake north of Violet. It was far enough away from the main city so that they weren't often bothered, and the surrounding water was a barrier to Arden potentially setting anything ablaze. A cool breeze blew across the lake and set the atmosphere for the temperate mid-afternoon. It would only be getting warmer and warmer, so he stopped a minute to appreciate the mood, take a deep breath full of cool air, and clear his thoughts before returning his attention to his Pokémon. Though he was focusing on Arden primarily, both other members of his team were active and training their own moves against the open air.

The beak pulling painfully his ear told him that it wasn't exactly accurate. "I hate birds," he said aloud, putting down his notebook.

Clovis was standing atop his head and preening his trainer's hair, digging his painfully sizeable claws into Ciel's scalp. The bird curiously explored his head as a vantage point and occasionally chirped in satisfaction at his new "nest." He nuzzled himself within the Ciel's thick, blond hair, dragging strands every which way with his beak to perfectly tailor the new home. Ciel didn't exactly appreciate it, but he tried to be positive and view it as a sign of affection.

A small circle Ciel drew into the pavement with blackboard chalk served as Arden's target, and he'd instructed the small mammal to attempt to hit the center from behind a line. Playing to his personality, Ciel found that the Pokémon saw it as a game and enjoyed playing if only to have fun, but his aim had improved tremendously. He wasn't sure how it would translate into fighting a moving opponent, but greater control would benefit Arden no matter what. Whenever he hit the target, his flame sacs would discharge, and he'd squeak in excitement and bound in circles.

Ciel walked over to Raven to be both disappointed and unsurprised. In the short time he'd left her alone to practice footwork, she'd already curled up by the water to soak up some sun. The trainer tapped his foot while considering how to motivate her to commit to training. For as much as she seemed to throw herself at any opportunity to battle other Pokémon, she surely didn't ever want to put in the work to improve.

"Hey, Clovis," he said, causing the bird to crane down his head and stare him in the eye, upside-down. He chirped. "How'd you like to battle?"

Though he responded to his nickname, Clovis probably didn't fully understand most his speech yet due to lack of exposure. However, the Flying-type's curiosity removed him from Ciel's head anyway. He fluttered down to the ground and began pecking at Raven's coat. She roused slightly but simply shifted her position and laid her head back down.

Clovis was offended at being ignored and did the only logical thing. His beak began to glow. He pulled his head back.  _Bam!_

Raven yelped in pain and jumped into a battle stance, growling viciously at the bird who dared disturb her lazy slumber. She received a disrespectful chirp in return—it riled her up further and she prepared to pounce. Ciel made way to step in, only to pause when he realized the useful situation. Clovis was the same species as Falkner's Pidgeotto and wasn't keen yet on listening to Ciel battle commands, so even though it wasn't a perfect simulation, the newcomer could provide solid preparation of Falkner's own unpredictable Flying-types.

Raven lunged at the Pidgey with her claws extended and the bird took flight. He smirked to himself and got ready to command.

"Time to train, girl," he said, falling into position behind her by the water. "Hold position and wait. You need to trust your eyes as much as possible and not lose sight." Falkner had been right in seeing that Raven relied more on her hearing and smell than her sight, which he assumed was because she spent so much time with her eyes  _closed_  instead of being alert and aware.

Clovis fell into a nosedive and streaked towards the ground, but Raven stood her ground. "Dodge!" Just as the flyby seemed to make contact, she sidestepped to the right and the bird darted past her. She kept her eyes intently focused on her hovering opponent, snarled, and fell low back into a battle stance, horn forward and ready to fight.

He could almost see the image of Falkner's Pidgeotto reflected in Clovis's actions. This matchup would be the perfect little practice exercise in dealing with aerial opponents. Ciel held his arm out to command.

As his partner and newest team member sparred, time flied past into late afternoon as they went through the motions over and over. Clovis would dive or attack in close quarters with his claws, Raven would dodge and parry in response. She kept her distance throughout the exercises, and he instructed her to stay as visually focused as possible in hopes that Falkner wouldn't be able to shut them down again, or at least not as completely.

The horizon began to burn red as the four of them training on the isle spent the day away. A few people walking to and from Sprout Tower, which lied on the other side of the bridge connecting the lake shored, stopped to watch them train but Ciel kept himself as focused as possible. His team sometimes swapped positions, Arden sparring with Raven and Clovis with him as he tried to teach the bird battle commands.

When that day's training finally ended, all of them stopped for the day and sat by the water to eat. His team lit up as a collective upon seeing the food he'd brought and began hungrily digging in. Assorted berries and cooked meats were laid out from his duffle. The meat had set him back the most, especially what the cashier at the Poke Mart had recommended for his Cyndaquil—crunchy remains of a Unovan Pokémon called Durant that Arden's species fawned over but was rare to find in the wild around Johto. However, despite how much money he spent, he felt happy upon seeing his friends enjoying the meal together, and he stared out onto the water.

After his Pokémon had finished eating, a presence made itself known to him, and Ciel turned up to see a familiar face. It was almost jarring to see him wearing something different, but rather than the elaborate traditional outfit he was sporting before, he was in casual clothing. Just a simple t-shirt and shorts.

"I see you're making progress," Falkner said to him.

"How long were you watching?" he asked.

"Hmm," the man put a finger to his chin, "about ten minutes. I was delivering something to the elder at Sprout Tower and saw you on my way back. You've put the week to good use. I can see a substantial difference."

Ciel scratched the back of his head, nearly flushing at the compliment. "Thank you," he replied. He wasn't sure what else to say.

A grin crossed the Gym Leader's face and he pushed his shaggy hair out of the way of his eyes. "I see you've got a Pidgey of your own. Were you inspired by my magnificent bird Pokémon?"

Clovis had returned to his nesting place atop Ciel's cranium and was satisfied enough with the arrangement of his nest to curl up and snooze His hair must have been a complete mess, and he could only wonder in horror what it might look like from someone else's perspective.

"Actually, I'd caught him before our battle," Ciel explained. "I thought not to use him because he was so new to the party."

"Ah, I see."

Ten elapsed seconds of silence as both he and Falkner cast their gazed over the lake reminded Ciel that he was  _awful_ at small talk. Absolute rubbish. He could feel the air pressure skyrocketing as he wondered how to continue this conversation. Falkner was a region-renowned trainer who has just complimented his skills—vaguely—and he had nothing else to say? He needed to find something to talk about.

What could he ask a successful trainer, one who knew his path in life and could act as guide? Ciel thought really hard about that, wondering if he had anything presently that needed answering. Something came to him, something that had been bothering him since before he even first set off those weeks ago.

"Well, I should get back," the man said and turned to walk away. He would miss his chance!

"Wait!" he called awkwardly, causing the man to stop in his tracks and turn his head back. "I, erm, need to ask a question."

"Go ahead," Falkner offered.

"What were your goals when you first started out as a Pokémon Trainer? Why did you want to so what you do?"

"Why do you want to know?"

 _"I was you once, you know."_  Pryce's words dug into his thoughts.  _"Your mother was you, and I her. We've all been or will be at a point where we don't know what it means. It's not supposed to come easy. You just get better."_

"I'd just… like to have a frame of reference," Ciel told him. He's been unsure of his goal as a Pokémon trainer for as long as Raven had been his partner. Trainers strived to be the very best like no one ever was before, but for most people, there will always be someone better. It wasn't motivating to want to be the greatest in the world. How was he supposed to drive himself instead? Brent Custos wanted to be a hero, but what should Ciel Fauder want?

The Gym Leader began laughing. Ciel raised an eyebrow, unsure of what it meant.

"When I was a kid," Falkner began, looking towards the sky, "I wanted to catch every bird Pokémon known to man. My family is renowned for their proficiency in training avian creatures, and I'd look up in awe at my grandfather with his proud Skarmory and his own aviary full of Pokémon the world over and strive to be just like him. An undeniable master."

A certain look of childish wonder crossed his face, matching exactly the story he told. The memories seemed so vivid across his expression, so genuine, despite that the moment he was describing was probably decades ago. "Then, I realized it was impossible. You know how people talk about wanting to 'Catch Them All,' like from that TV show? I realized it's a physical impossibility to catch every bird Pokémon, let alone every Pokémon in existence. My grandfather only actually owned a small fraction, but it seemed so much grander when I was younger. But, in a way, I don't think I ever really stopped trying or let the impossibility dissuade me from becoming a master bird keeper." Falkner finally looked down from the sky and turned to face him. "Was that not what you wanted to hear?"

Ciel let out a sigh. Maybe not, he thought. "I just don't know what to make of myself. I have a friend who knows deeply what he wants to do, but I'm still aimless."

"And that's perfectly fine. You don't just create some lofty ambition on the fly. Being a trainer is a work in progress with no actual completion. Hell, it doesn't even have to be some massive grand statement you want to make to the world, just make it something personal. What defines you? That should be your goal."

The man checked a watch on his wrist and stepped away. "Anyway, I've got to run. The League needs me to do some paperwork. I hope to see you back at my Gym soon!" Falkner waved goodbye as he jogged across the bridge towards the main shore of Violet.

Ciel's attention drifted back to the water and to his Pokémon, but he felt more absent minded than before and realized that there was no reason to continue. They had done enough training for the day.

As he walked back across the bridge and into the purple-colored world of the city, he thought about his goal. The Gym Leader's words echoed.

What defined him?

* * *

A few days later, Ciel was going about business as usual. He'd wake from his rented room at the Pokémon Center, eat a hearty breakfast, and then commit to training for a few hours each day. All his Pokémon were showing substantial improvement, especially Clovis, who found an affinity for cool acrobatic tricks while learning a structured battle style. It relieved him to know that he wouldn't being clawed at by pissed off birds any more than he needed to be.

He wasn't entirely sure he was ready to re-challenge the Violet Gym, both because he felt intuitively that their training hadn't concluded yet and because he didn't really have an answer to Falkner's question. The teenager had been mulling over it for a few days to no avail. He thought that he could call his mother again to ask for her own thoughts, but he'd have to wait until she was definitely home from the Mahogany Gym.

While he was walking out through the streets of Violet after training, he was pulled aside by Brent, who had also been out-and-about in his own bid for the Gym's badge.

"Is this one yours?" Brent asked, jerking a thumb backwards at the person behind him.

Ciel leaned on one foot and cast his sight past Brent's shoulder. Ethan waved vigorously in his direction, ten paces away, with an ear-length smile on his face.

"I've met him before," Ciel said, hesitantly returning the wave.

"I mentioned you in passing while we were talking in a waiting line at the Gym and he got very excited," the man told him with a chuckle.

"Hey, Ethan!" Ciel called, causing the other trainer to scurry in his direction. He was like a lost, excited baby Pokémon.

"What's up, guy? I haven't seen you in weeks!" An infectious energy just radiated away from him, and Ciel had to admit that he was feeling some of that liveliness himself. Ethan pulled him into a hug suddenly, and though he was surprised at the intimacy of the gesture, it wasn't unwelcome.

Ethan let go and began bouncing around some more. Ciel noticed then that he seemed to have an oddly shaped patch of hair above his lip, one much brighter than his dark hair. He tilted his head. "What's that on your face?"

"Oh, that's just my detective moustache. I can't seem to get it off."

Ciel decided not to ask when and why. Before the conversation could continue further, someone else approached the group. Another familiar face appeared

"Hello again, Ciel. It's nice to see you," greeted Lyra. The girl's baggy overalls were looking somewhat worse for the wear, and he wondered how long she and Ethan had been traveling. "We just got off Route 31 yesterday. I was wondering when we'd catch up. We're still searching around for that Pokémon thief and it's keeping us distracted."

Right, he reminded himself, the Professor's Totodile was still missing. He noted to himself that he might offer to help them look, but he was focused on training for the time being and wasn't sure he could spare the time. No, a Pokémon's wellbeing came before training. But Ethan and Lyra also didn't sound like they were in much of a hurry. The police were looking for the thief too, probably.

"Another friend of yours?" Brent asked, referring to the girl. Ciel nodded.

"Ooh, Lyra, why don't we take them along with us? We're gonna get dirty and it'll be so much fun," Ethan said excitedly. He had no idea what the trainer was referred to, and apparently Brent didn't either, causing he and the man to exchange confused glances.

Lyra shrugged. "I guess so. We're heading to the Ruins of Alph, which are about three kilometers west of here."

"The Ruins of Alph?" Ciel asked.

"They're some old stone buildings that have become a big tourist attraction. Apparently, they confuse the hell out of archaeologists so much that world-class minds like Cynthia Masuta have given up trying to understand them. I have a tourism pamphlet that advertises that as a selling point. The ruins are all about an old language that's not been deciphered."

Ethan gave his own input. "People say it makes you feel really weird whenever you're inside the ruins. Like, all tingly and such. It sounds neat."

"Want to come?" Lyra offered.

Ciel looked back to Brent, who shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do," he said. Ciel matched the gesture.

"Alright!" Ethan shouted into the air, spinning his cap backwards as a gesture of seriousness. No one mentioned that his hat was  _already_  backwards, so it became a normal ballcap. With his left arm curled to his side and his right arm pointed to the sky, he announced, "to the Ruins of Alph!"

As the trainer duo had indicated, the distance to the ruins really wasn't anything to write home about. After leaving the city proper and making their way into the suburbs, it was only about a forty-minute walk past Routes 36 and 32 to take them to the supposed site of the ruins. Having handed Ethan the map to lead, Lyra surprisingly hit it off with Brent. Along their walk, in between entertaining Ethan's various quips and penchant for taking wrong turns, he heard snippets of their conversation ranging from training practices to the instruments they played in high school band. Their personalities played off well together, both being the calm, helper type. They were good people, Ciel thought.

Ethan, who he had only met briefly before, was… interesting. Although Ciel found the trek to be somewhat boring in comparison, especially once they passed the nice houses of the Violet suburbs into the woods, Ethan seemed to be enjoying every step of the way.

"By the way, what's that thing in your backpack?" Ciel asked. The main flap of his bag was barely wrapped over a large round object that appeared to take up most of the space inside. It was adorned with green spots.

"Oh, that? So, we called Professor Elm while we were staying in Cherrygrove and he told us to meet this weird guy on Route 30 named Mr. Pokémon," Ethan explained. "Dumb name, right? But, he was a really chill guy and gave us this egg and said to walk around a whole bunch to help incubate it."

"Is it safe to just carry it in a backpack like that?"

"Definitely not. Lyra said you're supposed to incubate an egg in a warm place, and it was the best I've got. Though, I question the willingness of adults to give us high-responsibility tasks out of nowhere."

Ciel laughed. "My mom basically just told me to get out and dropped me at New Bark after I'd mentioned wanting to try the Gym Challenge once." Though, he felt somewhat surprised at the adeptness of Ethan's observation. Not that Ethan seemed unintelligent to him, but…

"Whoa!" Ethan exclaimed, causing the group's attention to shift to what had just been discovered.

Before them lied the ruins, revealed as the woods of Route 32 began to clear and the hill they stood on began to downslope. The group stood before nearly countless rows of low-lying, stone buildings, all of which had been worn away with time. Some structures had been completely annihilated, leaving only bare foundations and mounds of dust. The ruins stretched across a massive expanse of sand and sandstone, painting their view with nothing but a yellowish tan.

What's more, and perhaps the strangest thing about viewing the location before them, was that there seemed to be a strange dullness in the air. At first, Ciel thought it was the concentration of kicked up dust, but nothing seemed to irritate his eyes or catch in his throat. There was just a consistent muteness about the ruins that muddled his vision.

Desolation. That's what Ciel felt as he looked upon the remnants of days past. The same kind of longing one might feel when remembering a deceased relative. Was that the "weird" feeling Ethan had described, or was it just his own observation?

"How old are these ruins?" Brent asked the group. "They look surprisingly intact."

"According to that tourism pamphlet, scientists date the ruins based on their relative decay at about twelve-thousand years old," said Lyra.

That's odd, Ciel thought. From what he remembered studying world history in high school, permanent civilization didn't really exist until about 7,000 years before the present. The fact that structures that old existed and  _still_  existed caused his mind to run.

"Man, this is super cool! It's like a whole other region around here," said Ethan, mesmerized by the empty site. While everyone else was talking amongst themselves, the young trainer took it upon himself to break off into a jog towards the center of the ruins.

Lyra sighed and followed him. "If we don't keep up with him, he'll probably do something stupid. Come on."

Ciel and Brent again found themselves shrugging to each other before trailing after Ethan into the ruins.

* * *

With a wide swipe of his hand, Ethan cleared away a covering of dust from a wall tablet. Engraved into the stone were odd symbols resembling a language, each holding the unifying trait of a single, circular eye, laid out in consecutive rows. Ciel certainly couldn't make out what any of the characters were, but to know that experts were stumped too?

Ethan was holding a torch fashioned from a wayward stick he'd picked up outside and an Ember from Arden, whose Poké Ball Ciel had with him. had opted to stay back at the room and sleep. The boy held the torch closer to the wall

"Hey, guy, I don't think you're supposed to touch that. It could be fragile. You know, a 'keep hands away from the exhibit' type thing," Brent said, grabbing his shoulder to get Ethan's attention.

Ethan brushed it off, continuing to look intently at the ancient language. "Pssh, relax. If they really didn't want us to touch it, they'd have guards and staff all up and down this place to yell at us."

"I mean, yeah, but I still don't think you  _should_ ," the man said.

Ciel looked to Lyra for her thoughts, since she acted like Ethan's caretaker. The girl didn't step in.

"As much as I also don't think he  _should_  touch anything, I actually have to agree with him," she conceded. "Maybe it has something to do with how inconclusive the research findings about this place are. Still, I find it strange that there'd be no one staffed here at all."

It really was kind of unsettling. According to Lyra's pamphlet, the Ruins of Alph was one of the most active research sites in Kanto, Johto, and the additional territories also part of the Nihon macro-region. Ciel even noticed a pristine cabin as they walked through the exterior of the ruins that implied some people were permanently situated there.

"We should keep moving. We might find something more interesting than just repeated wall messages. And let's not stay here too long," Ciel said, and the rest of the group agreed.

As they walked, they periodically examined interesting things within the spaces of the buildings. Several of the structures were interconnected with hallways linking two or more full buildings. Stone roofs crumbled above them, occasionally allowing sunlight to filter inside and shine in patches onto mounds of dust. As Ciel stepped over a large fallen stone, he realized something.

"Hey, we aren't going to encounter any wild Pokémon in here, are we? This is a pretty dark and secluded place, and I've only got two members of my team with me," he said. "I don't want anyone to get attacked, especially not while Ethan has that egg."

"I've got my Sentret, if that helps," Brent said.

"I've got a Marill and a Sunkern," said Lyra.

"Marigold for me!" Ethan said, though Ciel had no idea what Pokémon that was. "Worst case scenario, I could use the egg to bash something over the head." Lyra shot Ethan a death glare. The boy scratched his head.

"Right, right," Ciel said sheepishly, feeling somewhat ashamed for assuming the other trainers were incapable of defending themselves. He just didn't like to chance anyone getting hurt, especially if he could do something about it.

"Whoa, look at this!"

Ethan ducked into a low hallway that led to a completely dark room of the ruins. Holding his torch into the blackness, Ethan revealed a large structure in the center of room covered in yet more ciphers and odd masonry. Lyra snatched the torch from her partner's hands to prevent him from going any further without her consent, and the four slowly approached the structure in the center of the room. They stopped as the writing became visible.

"I've got to be honest, this is making me feel like a real adventurer. Just make sure not to spring any booby traps," joked Brent.

It looked like a shrine. Stone blocks arranged in a vague "U" shape left an open space for someone to stand, or rather, pray, and a space cut into the stone might be where an offering would be placed to appease a deity. Below it, as revealed by the torch, was an engraving. A Pokémon.

"I don't recognize that one," Lyra announced while peering intently at the structure. The outline etched into the stone was one of a winged beast and reptilian form, though simplified and stylized. Ciel would have pinned it as a Charizard, a powerful Pokémon from Kanto, but it didn't look quite right.

"Let me see!" Ethan exclaimed as he snatched the torch back and stepped forward once more towards the structure.

_Crack._

Before his brain has even processed the sound, he reacted on instinct. Ciel jumped forward and grabbed Ethan by the shirt. With as much power as he could muster, he tossed the other trainer as far away from the center of the room as possible.

Ethan landed on the stone with a grunt just as the floor in the center of the room gave way and Ciel plummeted into an unknown darkness. He screamed.

* * *

Though his eyes were open, he couldn't see. All his other senses were firing on overdrive. Echoed sounds passed in and around his head, and amidst the noise he could hear his own heartbeat in his chest. His nose was overblown by the presence of dust and earthy stone, and he could feel particles of sand in his mouth.

He tried to focus off it, but he couldn't ignore the pain. An unbelievable, burning pain in his left shoulder. He knew immediately that he'd dislocated it, but as much as he was tempted to try to set it back in place, a sparse rational thought amidst his overstimulated mind told him that attempting to do so in complete blackness might be a bad idea.

Eventually, Ciel slowly picked himself off the ground and tried to ascertain his surroundings. Slowly craning his neck upwards, he couldn't even see where he'd fallen from, and no voices of his friend were audible. Where in the world  _was_  he?

Luckily, he was alive, and the first thing he did was check his pocket. Both Poké Balls were still intact. That was a relief. He had landed on his left side and they were in his right. Despite his own condition, it reassured him to know that the capsules hadn't been lost to potentially be picked up and opened. So, his Pokémon were safe with him. Now he had to figure out the same for himself.

Other options were completely out of the question due to lack of visibility, so he began to walk, feeling around with his good arm into the darkness. He found a wall and began sliding along. The granules of dust under his fingers were magnified with his heightened state, as if he could individually pinpoint each speck.

Curiously, a tiny, miniscule glow appeared ahead of him. It was drifting. Apprehensive, Ciel stopped his movement and stood completely still as the orb of dull light floated gently towards him. His eyes finally began to function normally, and within the radius of the glow was… something.

Keeping his eyes focused on it helped distract himself from the searing throb of his dislocated shoulder. A small being resembling that ancient language gently floated in the darkness, complete with the same unblinking eye. It passively regarded him and swayed in front of him, as if curiously examining his person. He'd never seen any records of a living being looking like it.

"I… what… what are you? A type of Pokémon?" he asked to no response. The creature drifted aimlessly into the dark as if it had forgotten him entirely.

Slowly, he looked around and realized that these creatures had filled the hallway, bringing with their presence small pockets of light throughout the space he was enclosed in. Had they all suddenly appeared when he wasn't looking?

He felt the pain begin to fade—more due to habituation than it subsiding—and another feeling immediately replaced it. A curious perplexity rooted both in his mind and his body. He realized that it was the 'weird' feeling that Ethan had mentioned. The best way he could describe it was a sense of déjà vu, wracking him with the unexplainable experience of abstract past. As he moved further through the depths of the ruins along the wall, searching for a way out, that sensation didn't ever seem to disappear. While grateful for it fighting back against the awareness of his injury, the omnipresence of the feeling unnerved him

Each of the floating Pokémon combined produced a small light, but together their combined luminescence returned his vision enough to know that he was inside a long rectangular hallway. He was supporting his movements with one of its side walls. Down the center of the hallway were a series of repeating columns, pulling his attention and taking him somewhere. Ciel had no idea how long the ruins would go on, but with few alternatives, he kept moving, guided by the light of the ancient language.

Really, he wasn't sure how long he moved, but it felt like hours. Be stepped onward, no closer to a destination than before—when he looked back, the hall hadn't changed. Had he even moved? Eventually, he noticed a gradual increase in light in his surroundings. The hallway twisted and ran back the way it came, or so he thought, but the change told him that he wasn't returning to a previous area. The trainer kept moving, even though it could have led to more danger.

Even after he began hearing the voice.

Words echoed through the catacombs of the Ruins of Alph, and as he approached ever closer to the end of the hallway and their source, he understood more and more. Someone was talking, perhaps to themselves, and he approached as silently as he was able.

"—e wr-t—gs -at-h s-me ci-p-e—d -in-i-g- a- th- o-he- -oc-a—on-"

As the hallway ended, it revealed an open chamber, it too shrouded mostly in darkness. There weren't any of the glowing entities that were causing the light. No, instead it was a lone torch being held by a man. Ciel quietly positioned himself behind the hall's last pillar and looked upon the lone chamber, where the man cast his torch upon an engraved wall.

Resting against the pillar, he listened in. "Father's writings were completely accurate. It's here." The words were completely audible. "I wonder if those officials are even are aware of this place's existence."

Even though he wanted to see what was going on, he slid back to the other side of the pillar, turning away from the man to hide. The voice wasn't familiar at all, and something about the situation told him to turn away,  _now._  He wanted nothing to do with whatever was happening, but did he have any way out? There was no exit, no way for he or his Pokémon to leave this place.

"Well, it's completely metaphysical, isn't it?" the man rambled to himself. It's not a geologic structure, or at least it isn't any longer. But the power is still here and still intact, which means…" he trailed off.

A heartbeat pounded massively in Ciel's chest, both from a returning pain in his arm and his intuition screaming against him. But he was fixed in place, whether it be by curiosity or an unexplained fear.

In a sudden burst, the man began laughing. "Yes.  _Yes_. This is the beginning of something extraordinary, something that only I will lay claim to. Four remain..."

Through one last bout of courage, he revealed himself and stepped past the pillar, intent to find his way out. He'd face the man despite his instinct.

In a flash, something appeared in front of him. "Boo!" exclaimed the wispy form of a Pokémon that invaded his vision. Ciel shouted in surprise and fell flat on his back, smashing horribly against the ground.

Now, the pain was beginning to catch back up with him and he felt like he was losing himself. The light suddenly faded into blackness, and as he barely craned his neck over to peer into the chamber, the man was gone. The circular wisp above him laughed creepily as the darkness overtook him.

Gone.

* * *

"Ciel!" Lyra exclaimed, causing him to snap to attention with a groan.

"Oh, thank goodness," said Brent, adding a sigh.

"Where… where am I? Did you guys see… " Ciel asked, looking around. His eyes filled with dim light, and a glance around told him that they were just outside one of the ruined buildings in the cool evening. It was still slightly dark outside.

"We're outside the ruins now," Lyra reassured him. "We dragged you out after you fell in that little hole to see if you were hurt, and fortunately you seemed fine even though you blacked out for a bit. I'm glad you're okay."

Ciel's attention immediately snapped to his left arm. It wasn't dislocated. He spun it around just to be sure. "Yeah. I think I'm good," he managed.

Ethan was stretching his arms over his head nearby and let out a yawn. "I'm never dragging a person out of a two-meter hole ever again. No fun at all," he complained. Two meters? That couldn't be right. "Thanks for grabbing me, by the way. I landed on my stomach and the egg is safe, too."

"Are you okay to stand?" Brent asked. Ciel nodded in response. "We really should get back. That's enough adventure for one day, huh?"

Unable to find his words to speak, he stood and followed as the remainder of the group headed back to town. He felt again in his pockets for his Poké Balls and found them right where they were. However, he felt a third in his pocket. Hadn't he left Raven at the Pokémon Center?

Ciel withdrew the capsule and expanded it to ready size. Its information panel read "GASTLY" in capital letters.

Ethan, Lyra, and Brent periodically asked if he was okay, and he kept reassuring them that he was fine, but he mostly refrained from the conversation at they made their trek back from the Ruins of Alph. After what he'd seen, he felt jumbled and couldn't manage to put it into words. Had he even seen it at all, or was there no room under the shrine in which he fell?

There were two explanations. Either it was real, or it wasn't.

Ciel wasn't sure which scared him more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It's come to my attention that I... forgot to upload this last week. Uhh. Yeah.**
> 
> **This was originally a Halloween chapter due to the difference in publications between AO3 and FF with this story, but I missed Halloween even on FF, so I'm not really sure it matters. In any case, it's a bunch of spooky stuff and some underlying mythos, which I personally enjoy writing, even if it probably makes little sense on the onset. This chapter also marks me incorporating some elements from the Adventures manga into this story just to realize the world a bit more.**
> 
> **Come back next week (assuming I don't forget) for Chapter 7: Eye of the Hurricane!**


	7. Eye of the Hurricane

Today was the day.

Their training had lasted for exactly fifteen days, not including a few intermittent rest days where he and his team sat around their guest room or had fun around the city. The trainer was certain that they were ready. Raven had spent most of her time training her senses to prevent herself from being caught off guard, Arden had a new move up his sleeve, and Clovis had become a surprisingly adept fighter that could battle on the same aerial field as Falkner. The only Pokémon unaccounted for was the Gastly he apparently now owned, which he had opted to shove in his PC rather than confront whatever hallucinogenic fever dream that had been part of. Otherwise, and by all accounts, he believed he had a team ready to take on the Gym Leader.

So why was he still so nervous? He'd set his alarm and woken early but had yet to make his way to the Gym. He hadn't even brushed his teeth, showered, or anything that involved getting ready for the day. It had been four hours.

Ciel paced around his guest room. Though it was almost a standard hotel room, it had a certain aura to it that always made sticking around slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it was the Pokémon Center's trademark peppermint red and white color scheme that felt of sterility. It was technically part of a hospital, so he wasn't sure what he expected. As he ran over his thoughts, Ciel continuously scratched his chin, bristling the short hairs that reminded him that he needed to shave soon. Plaguing him was a statement Falkner had made to him the previous week.

What defined him?

Really, what  _did_ define him? Unless he was an outlier, he realized that most people rarely stopped to introspect themselves and consider just who they are and what they wanted. When was the last time he thoroughly sat down and described who he was? Since leaving school there was no pushing force to lead him somewhere, nothing but his own lacking drive to keep him moving forward. People usually found passion through school and their friends, or some other outlet. He really regretted not going to college then.

In a bought of insight, he realized the subtlety of the required ages of Pokémon trainers. Under normal circumstances, a person couldn't apply for a Trainer Card and take the licensing exam until they were eighteen, two years after they left high school. The only reason he was early was due to the exception that League staff could write recommendations for their kids to start at sixteen. Otherwise, the time gap was meant to dissuade people from becoming trainers and being in the same predicament he was.

He stopped pacing a moment and snorted, realizing humorously that his musings were like a mid-life crisis.

He knew, with some hesitation, that he wanted to be a Pokémon trainer. He was sure of that, always had been. But that didn't justify itself and just opened up another question. Why did he want to be a Pokémon trainer besides following his family's line of work? There had to be some deep-seeded reason. Right?

"Gahhhhh." He groaned as he plopped down on the bed. His partner was resting as a curled white lump on top of every pillow she could find, hastily dragged into a pile. There was an annoyed growl as the bed bounced.

Reaching for the remote on the nightstand, he switched on the TV and began flipping through channels to find something to waste his time. Grossly limited as it was, the Center's cable had few things of interest besides the Indigo League's public broadcast channel, daytime soap operas, and blocked pay-per-view channels that he wouldn't be old enough to rent and wasn't in the mood for. He settled on ILPB5, the League's documentary channel, and tossed away the remote to vegetate.

" _The world of Pokémon, a spinning globe of wonderment! Home to an infinite array of creatures too varied to fully comprehend,"_  the program began, reciting a famous speech from the 1960s. _"Thousands, perhaps millions, meticulously fashioned by the forces of nature in all its glory, as only nature can. And no matter what corner of the world you find yourself, rest assured you'll find Pokémon there as well. Soaring overhead, skimming the clouds! And riding the currents undersea! Sharing the mountains majesty! And animating our many lush green forests. Happily making their home in fields of grass! Why, even our sprawling cities are teeming with them! People and Pokémon find common ground sharing the goal of victory in the art of battle, vying to become friends, comrades, and Pokémon Masters!"_

Ciel turned over in bed onto his stomach to pay attention as the images on the television suddenly shifted to a collage of black-and-white photos and grainy monochrome video clips from early last century. They depicted a man with ridiculously spiky hair commanding a Charizard in battle spliced with clips of the same man tossing paint at an easel. The first ever World Champion, Kaioma Yarrito.

" _Kaioma Yarrito was an artist, first and foremost, reflecting both in his prized landscapes and his wild battle style. Many claim that his creative instincts set the standard for modern Pokémon Battles, ushering in an era of unorthodox strategies and fantastical bouts from brilliants minds the world over."_ The trainer was then shown holding a medal skyward on a pedestal, the date time-stamped in the bottom right. July 21st, 1900.  _"With his team of Fire-type Pokémon, Yarrito claimed the title at the first biennial World Trial, the globe's premier world Pokémon battling championship. In this program, we will recount the events of his life and shed light on this world-renowned trainer's rarely seen personal side, including a never-before-released-to-public interview with the man in the late 1970s. Stay tuned on ILPB5."_

Fortunately, Pokémon League public broadcasting never had advertisements, so Ciel was sucked into the documentary as he found himself enthralled by the life of one of the most legendary trainers in history. He'd learned about the man before in passing but found himself enthralled by the documentary's manner of storytelling. It told of a man driven only by inner passion and a creative drive, who devoted his entire life to realizing his own art.

The program recounted his early years in childhood, his adventures through the Nihon, Kalos, and Sinnoh before Regions even existed, his World Trial appearance, and beyond. At intermittent points, the program cut to historians talking about various aspects of his training career and how they've impacted the world. Yarrito, according to a move historian, is credited with discovering the move Fire Blast, which he fashioned into a Kantonese character for "big" as a tribute to his heritage. Beyond his tenure as World Champion, he worked as a battle strategist during the Coalition War of the 50s, and then became a philanthropist, continuing to battle into his old age as a symbol of human potential.

Ciel wondered if he'd ever manage to achieve that level of greatness, and as much as he wanted to scream that it was possible, he couldn't truly believe so without his own goal. People wanted to be the best because something drove them to do it. Being the best didn't justify itself, because comparing yourself to others meant nothing if you yourself were nobody.

The television cut to a color broadcast, displaying the Kaioma Yarrito reclining in a lavish armchair. He brought a glass of water to his lips, highlighting the deep wrinkles outlined on the back of his hand and the bare bones of his aging face. He would have been in his late nineties, but his hair remained a vibrant shade of red.

" _What do you think was your motivation for being a trainer for so long, Mr. Yarrito?"_ asked an interviewer in a nice suit.

" _My reason?"_ he proposed to the camera, simply and bluntly. _"I wanted to create something for my family to be proud of, just like my painting. It was never really about me, even if I gave it my own flavor."_ He chuckled happily and held back a cough.

As the program went on a tangent about his family to jump off his statement, Ciel reminded himself that he had somewhere to be and abruptly shut off the television. Fighting back against the urge to keep laying around all day, he decided to jump in the shower to get ready for his match.

"It's never really about me?" he asked himself. He spent a long time under the water trying to determine what he wanted that to mean. Fortunately, he knew someone who could tell him all about that.

* * *

Ciel continued to ponder while searching Violet City for Brent Custos. Without a PokéGEAR to hold his phone number, his contact with the other trainer was sorely lacking, and situations like this required extensive trial and error to locate him. The brick paths of Violet lacked any gridlike planning, so he found himself walking in meaningless circles while looking for his friend.

He first checked by the lake since it was one of few places he was familiar with, but apparently Brent favored other locations to spend time with his Pokémon. This left him annoyed at the prospect of having to go out of his way, but he had a burning question to ask.

Speaking of burning, he fanned the smell of smoke away from his nose as Arden ignited behind him. His entire team was active, and both Arden and Clovis had taken to hitching a ride on their larger team leader. His Cyndaquil was attached to Raven's back with his claws digging into her fur for support, while Clovis stood atop her head as a vantage point to scan the area. He repeatedly chirped in interest at passing people and things.

He could see the annoyance across his partner's face, but surprisingly she made no attempt to shake off the other members of the team. She just kept walking, begrudgingly, probably wondering how that situation came to be. He wasn't sure himself.

As he learned through his extended stay, Violet was old. Buildings were either a traditional style that probably predated the creation of the Johto Region or were more recent brick buildings that ironically looked further dated due to architectural brutalism. Old versus new, lasting cultural significance versus modern, short-lived utility. Searching for his friend had given him an opportunity to just soak in the settlement in contrast to his usual there and back again routine while training.

The sidewalk he walked along led down for a couple of blocks. Soon, a three-meter fence appeared beside him, and curiously he followed the barrier to find out what exactly it was enclosing. Ciel came across its simple gate and stood vacant in front of it, peering past the bars.

A school, presumably for rising Pokémon trainers if the hanging faded Poké Ball on the gate was any indication. Overgrown vines covered the bars as well as the collection of small campus buildings within the premises. Playing children inside the gate juxtaposed the aged, empty appearance of the school. They ran back and forth on the lawn with an orange canine, a Growlithe, darting between their heels and barking in excitement.

As he pictured himself at his own grade school, playing and running himself however many years ago, he reminded himself again that he had somewhere to be. Still, he smiled fondly, remembering when he had a little less to worry about.

Passing through Violet's so-called "old town", surrounded by more of those towering violet-roofed pagodas, he finally found Brent Custos with his own Pokémon inside a small public park. The man noticed him immediately walked over to greet him.

"Hey! I haven't seen you in a couple days. How have you been holding up?" the man put his hand up.

Ciel slapped it in a high-five. "Just barely," he joked. "I think I'm ready to head to the Gym." He motioned to his gaggle of Pokémon and the odd single unit they had formed.

"I'd go with you this time, but I promised my Nana that I'd come visit while I was in town. She lives here in Violet."

"Your grandmother?"

"Yeah. She lives up in the north side," said Brent.

"Mind if I watch you train a while?" Ciel asked as he sat down on a nearby park bench.

"If it suits you, I guess. I can't say that I'm going to be doing anything extraordinary."

The man returned to exercises with his partner Pokémon, trainer calling out moves repeatedly and Pokémon following the command. It was simple stuff meant to build up muscle memory. They were working on a new move that involved his Sentret using its large arms to chop objects called Brick Break. Belying the name, his friend decided to use the park bushes as targets so as  _not_  to break anything. Sentret chopped into various growths, rustling them but otherwise dealing no damage.

Every so often, Brent requested that his Pokémon use its tail bounce to attempt to hit a target in the air, such as an overhead tree. The brown creature landed on its own tail, bounded high, and chopped a branch of the tree straight in half. The resulting brush toppled down into the grass. Brent looked around, embarrassed, hoping that no one saw.

"Okay, maybe it's best we move onto something else," the elder trainer announced. "You did great, Sentret, so just rest for a while."

His Pokémon bounced joyfully on his tail like a pogo stick. Acting on its instincts, it returned to the tree it had damaged and scaled the bark, resting on another branch to stare out over the landscape. "I appreciate you looking out for predators in this public city park," called Brent, before he turned back to Ciel. "Want to see a new Pokémon of mine?"

That piqued his interest. "Sure!" A few immediate thoughts ran through his head at what Pokémon his friend could have obtained since they last met. Mareep was common around that area, as were the Hoppip family if some of the magazine guides in his hotel room were accurate.

Brent gave him a sly grin and retrieved a Poké Ball from his pocket. It popped open with a neon red flash.

Ciel stared in wonder, then confusion, then disappointment as the red beam materialized into a flopping mess that bounced pitifully against the grounds. The space of the red light filled out with a round orange shape, connecting to various fins, golden whiskers, and a pair of lifeless, unblinking eyes. The Pokémon struggled against absolutely nothing as it made slapping sounds amongst the grass. He turned to Brent, the man holding this expectant look on his face.

"Well, what do you think?"

Ciel snorted. "A Magikarp? Really?" He covered his nose to stop the snorting from breaking out into full-on laughter. To be polite, of course.

The trainer's hysterics only mounted as he witnessed the growing bright red flush across the man's face. He looked just like a pouting kid, something that almost reminded Ciel of his younger sister. Wow. As he looked again, the similarity was uncanny.

"You don't understand, Ciel," said Brent. "I got this Pokémon from a guy hanging around the Center. He told me he'd sell me this champ for a low ₽5,000 and that it was a great deal because it evolves into Gyarados. That sounded like a steal to me."

"That was a scam. You've been scammed."

"Alright, jackass!" Brent said while pointing a finger accusedly and picking up his fish. He held the large flopping mess to his shirt. "Just watch. This Magikarp is going to become the strongest Pokémon ever and I'm going to destroy you in battle when that time comes!"

"But, dude," Ciel said, "Magikarp  _sucks_."

Brent withdrew the fish into its Poké Ball and sat down on the bench next to Ciel. If he only had two Pokémon, that being Sentret and Magikarp, there wasn't much else he could work on. Instead, he just opted to sit back on the bench, still steamed but making it obvious that he recognized Ciel's teasing as a joke. The elder trainer threw his head back and let out a massive yawn. "So, is there any specific reason you came to find me? I'd have assumed you'd want to get to the Gym as early as possible to beat the lines. I saw how packed it can get on a good day."

"Oh, I actually wanted to ask you something," he admitted, unsure of how he originally intended to segway into it.

"Go ahead. I'm all ears, as long as you don't insult my Pokémon anymore."

"Do… do you mind telling me more about your mother?"

His expression visibly changed as if the thought itself softened him. It wasn't sadness. No, it was more like a calm reverence.

"That's a bit out of nowhere," he said.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then-"

Brent cut him off. "No, it's fine. I was just surprised, is all."

The man drew in a deep breath and waited. Waited. Ciel recognized that the man obviously was unsure about sharing. Just as he decided to tell the elder trainer to forget he asked, the man spoke up.

"I guess the easiest place to start is my dad." Another long pause. "Hard to call him that anyway, given that I knew him for only half a year or so. My mom fell in love with him and they had me pretty soon after, and she thought it was going to be happily ever after. As fate would have it, the guy had a mental breakdown and disappeared only a few months later, and she never saw him again. I don't remember any of it, so I only really know it through her recollection of him."

He seemed completely indifferent. Not angry, not sad, just indifferent. Ciel sat quietly and listened intently in the hopes that it would give him some insight on his own goals. What exactly could make someone so sure in trying to become a real-life hero?

"For as long as I've known it, it's just been me and her. She never tried to look for anyone else. I know being a single parent sucks, and once I was old enough to really make sense of it, I knew she never had any money lying around. She was spending it all on me, making sure I was fed, making sure I was happy. I told her pretty early that I wanted to be a Pokémon trainer after thinking it was so cool seeing it on TV, and I know she was fully aware how unstable of a profession it is, but she just said 'be whoever you want to be' and smiled."

He let out a soft laugh at nothing in particular. Ciel raised an eyebrow and the man continued. "You know, I never really knew the half of it until one day when I was about… twelve? Yeah, I'll say twelve. I couldn't sleep and was walking to the kitchen to get myself some water, and all I heard was soft sobs coming from the other side of her bedroom door. Mom was working about three jobs at this point and never said anything about it, but I sat down against the door and just listened to her cry, and cry, and cry. After a while I knocked on the door to see if she was alright, and when it opened, her face was completely dry, as if she hadn't been crying at all. She couldn't let me see that anything was wrong, and I can only imagine what kind of mental strength it must have taken to hide that day after day."

A part of Ciel felt a twang of guilt, realizing that he didn't feel the same level of respect for his own mother. That wasn't to say he didn't feel a deep connection with her, much more so than his father, but he saw her more as a close friend than as a infallible guardian in his mental image. Did that make him a bad person? He pushed the thought away as Brent spoke up again.

"That's really all there is. Once I got to high school, I talked to her more about everything I knew she'd done and I feel like there's nothing I could ever do to pay her back for it. I managed to get a good scholarship to college so she wouldn't need to worry, and for every bit of money I make while I train, I send some of it back to her so that she can have some extra to spend for herself." He let out a huge sigh and shook his head. "All she's ever said to me about trying to pay her back was to just be good to other people in return. That's a life lesson I've kept with me for a long while, and that's why I'm here now. I want to be able to give myself selflessly to other people just like she did for me, because I know how much it means to someone and how happy it can make someone feel when they know another person has given their everything for them."

Brent turned towards Ciel, and with the resolution of exactly the person he wanted to be, he said, "that's why I want to be a hero. For my mother."

The same feeling he had when they talked back in the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center ran through Ciel's mind then. From the eyes of someone struggling to find a definite ambition, Brent was everything he wanted himself to be. Someone he could look up to and model himself after, he hoped, and he was glad in that moment that he'd made a friend like him.

"Though," Brent said with a why laugh, breaking from his focused reverence, "I suppose I haven't done too much hero stuff yet. Just normal trainer stuff."

"That's… wow." Ciel was stunned. "I'm sorry I made fun of the 'hero' thing when we first met," he said.

He laughed. "Don't sweat it. It still sounds weird up front, but it's just very personal to me, you know? Why did you want to know, anyways?"

"I was looking for something to model my own goals after. I'm lost myself, and you seemed like the most resolute person I know.

Brent's gaze cast out to his Sentret, whose residence on the tree branch had been invaded by Clovis and Arden curiously exploring the lookout spot upon the branch. Raven sat at the base of the tree, growling up at the others and keeping a close eye. "Is there anyone you want to do this for? Old friends, family? I just think about my mother and want to show her the kind of person I can become, and just like that, my doubt is gone."

Ciel wracked his brain for what exactly could drive him in the same way. He missed a bunch of his high school friends in Goldenrod, but he never felt like he got close enough to any of them to derive a deeper meaning from it. Hell, he'd never even managed to get a romantic relationship going.

And as he'd noted before, he couldn't find that same kind of connection with his mother that Brent could, perhaps because his family had never fallen on such hard times that would forge an unbreakable bond. Even worse, sometimes he had to remind himself that his mother had nearly stood back and tried to excuse every one of  _those_ nights that his father had, that had led to…

" _Get away from her!" Ciel yelled, the ten-year-old holding his arms wide in front of his sister. Laina was crying against the wall behind him as their father's figure cast a massive shadow over them._

_He had already hit her once. He wouldn't let it happen again. The fist flew and he braced himself for the impact. It never came, and a loud thud echoed as his inebriated father nearly punched a hole in the wall above him. His heart was pounding, racing, beating, murmuring. As the man stumbled off towards his bedroom, he felt the high slowly subside, and he turned back to his sister._

" _Laina, are you okay?" he asked. His voice cracked, hard, but he didn't care._

_His younger sister was bawling her eyes out, but she managed a small nod. He pulled the four-year-old into a big hug as the door slammed down the hall. She was safe, and that's all that mattered._

Ciel stood up suddenly from the bench, his fists curled at his side, not in anger but in determination. He looked up into the sky and took a deep breath of the crisp spring air. Deep down, Ciel realized he wanted to become a Pokémon trainer to be strong. He wanted to be stronger to protect someone who means more to him than anyone else.

"What's the matter?" Brent asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"I think I know who I'm doing this for," said Ciel. "Thank you, Brent. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. I think I'm ready to head to the Gym."

The man smiled in understanding. "Go get 'em."

"Raven, Arden, Clovis!" he shouted, catching the attention of his three Pokémon, beckoning them to follow. As he made his way across the city towards the Gym, he felt the kindling of a small flame, one that his battle with Pryce had only barely sparked. He'd make sure this time to keep it burning.

* * *

The Gym was packed. Brent was right—the place got a lot of traffic despite being intended only for dedicated trainers. Upon the elevator reaching its peak and revealing the upper level of the tower to him again, he was surprised to see a pair of grandstand-like fixtures tethered to the ceiling that weren't present the last time he'd visited. They were filled to the brim with spectators jeering at the current match on display.

As he hopped across the wooden boards, he tried to remain concentrated but felt distracted by the amount of noise echoing throughout the tower. More than once, as he stepped across the suspended platforms, he felt his vision blur and displace itself as he looked down, but he clenched his eyes shut for a moment and continued forward. Knowing now that a safety net existed helped him keep his calm, though that still brought up questions about how this kind of building structure didn't violate all kinds of workplace safety regulations. As he crossed the final gap to the floating battlefield, he stood on the edge in witness of the battle currently occurring.

Ethan threw his arm to the side and shouted. "Marigold, hit it with Poison Powder!"

Falkner issued his counter. "Use Gust to blow it back!"

As the Chikorita launched a wave of deep-violet particles at her opponent, the Pidgeotto's sudden gale collided with the poison and blew the attack around the ring, scattering purple across the entire battlefield in her and her trainer's direction. Ethan held an arm up to his mouth to prevent breathing them in, but his Pokémon wasn't so lucky.

"Now, Tenku! Aerial Ace!"

As she began coughing and before she even had a chance to recover, Marigold was wildly struck across the body by the Pidgeotto's claw after it dove from its position in the air. With that, the battle had already ended.

Ciel approached his friend once the referee signaled that the battlefield was clear, standing over the other trainer as he held his Chikorita to his chest. She was bleeding across her side, though not critically. Aerial Ace was a Flying-type move, which Ciel knew tended to do more damage to Grass-type Pokémon, and that was probably the reason she was more beat up than a normal battle.

However, as Ethan began applying an Antidote and a Potion from his bag, the Chikorita—Marigold—seemed more energized than ever. An elated expression crossed the plant creature's face and she whipped her leaf around in spite of her condition. Fortunately, she hardly felt the effects of her redirected Poison Powder since Ethan had applied the Antidote so quickly.

"Did you have fun?" Ethan asked the Pokémon while dressing her wounds. She responded with a hearty nod and a chirp of some kind. "Sorry I let you get so beat up."

Among the murmurs of the present crowd, he heard slow clapping from an approaching person. "Bravo, Ethan," chided Lyra. "I'm not sure what you were expecting trying to take on the Gym Leader with only one Grass-type Pokémon."

"Hey, she enjoyed herself!" Ethan stuck out his tongue in protest. "And the egg hasn't hatched yet."

"You're just causing us to be stuck here for a few more days and not looking for the thief," she said as she kneeled down next to him. At some point, she must have noticed Ciel's presence, as she waved in his direction. Ethan turned around to notice who she was gesturing at.

"You two argue like a couple," Ciel told them.

"Har har, very funny," said Lyra. "Are you here to challenge the Gym?"

He cast his eyes over to the opposite side of the arena, where Falkner was standing in wait for another trainer to step forward. The man regarded him at a distance as another challenger stepped up to the arena to take their shot at the badge. The three trainers moved their way to the stands to clear battlefield before it got hectic again, Ethan recalling Marigold for the time being. Small bridge-like structures connected the main battle platform and the hanging grandstands, which they stepped across to sit down on some available seats. Raven, who had been silently following him, was agitated by all of the commotion and angrily sat beside one of the seats.

"It'll be my second try," he said as they got situated. "Have you tried to challenge yet, Lyra?"

She pulled a case out of the yellow bag strapped over her shoulder and opened it to reveal eight spaces to hold badges. One slot was filled, housing a hexagonal-shaped object with a cut through one side.

"I won on my first attempt," she boasted. "Though, it was a pretty close match. It came down to Ray, my Sunkern, wearing down his second Pokémon with Mega Drain. My Marill had taken down his first and damaged his second beforehand."

"Mind if we stick around and watch your match, Ciel?" asked Ethan.

"Sure. I hope I don't choke with the eyes on me, though."

The three of them waited in the stands for about an hour as different challengers lined up to face Falkner. There wasn't any kind of line going due to the small space on the battlefield platform, though some trainers were standing at the edge of the battlefield, so he surmised that everyone here to fight was running by the honor system and being patient. Individual battles went by quickly, with none of them involving more than two Pokémon. Whether that was the choice of the Gym Leader or the limitations of the challenger's party was unknown to him, as he couldn't easily hear the conversations between the two from the distance they were sitting.

One trainer even managed to beat Falkner with an overwhelming type advantage. They had two Electric-types, one a familiar Mareep and the other a strange flat creature with a beak. He didn't recognise that one, but the fact that it shot sparks while making obnoxious farting noises made its typing clear. It must have been from another region.

Eventually, when Falkner put out another call for a challenger, no one else stepped up to battle. The three of them looked around for anyone in the stands who might have arrived earlier, but everyone already present by the time he arrived had taken their turn.

"You're up buddy!" cheered Ethan. "Have fun!"

Ciel stepped off of the grandstands and took his position opposite Falkner on the floating platform. He could feel the wind circulating throughout the spacious tower, filling his ears in combination with the chatter among the crowd. This would be the first time a battle of his had a genuine audience.

"I'm glad to see you've returned." The man crossed his arms confidently across his chest. "I don't believe I ever got your name."

"It's Ciel. Ciel Fauder."

As uncommon as his surname was in the Johto Region, the amused recognition Falkner displayed was no surprise. He must have met his parents, as Gym Leaders across the region were in contact with one another due to League coordination.

"Well, Mr. Fauder, I believe it's time to show me what you've learned. How many Pokémon will you be battling with today?"

"Three," he said.

"I'll only allow a maximum of two, for brevity's sake. You can also fight with one if you'd like, but it would put you at a disadvantage."

Damn. He had to leave someone behind? As much as he didn't want everyone's training to be wasted, it was probably better to keep the battle short. He wasn't used to long, drawn-out matches.

Who to leave behind, though? Clovis was inexperienced but was the only one who could fight the Gym Leader's bird Pokémon on equal footing. Err, winging. Raven was easily his strongest Pokémon in terms of sheer fighting power but had few options to get close. Arden could fight at long-range, but fire may not be the most effective option if the wind trick Falkner pulled in their last battle was any indication.

He sighed, realizing that his best option involved leaving his strongest Pokémon out. Arden's Smokescreen would be really useful in at least confusing or stalling for time and he needed Clovis's mobility. "Hey, Raven," he said, kneeling down next to his partner. "I'm going to need you to sit out of this one, okay?"

If a Pokémon could swear, she would have been reciting an dictionary's worth of expletives—her expression made that clear. She snapped loudly at him and growled. He put his hands up in defense. "Sorry, but even with all the training we did, you still don't have a good option to fight airborne opponents. I didn't know there was a limit. Seriously."

He could tell she wasn't hearing any of it. She let out a hiss and turned on her own heel, making her way back towards the stands. Her walk was hunched and her sickle bared, and the few spectators she passed before making her way back to Ethan and Lyra shifted as far away from her path as possible. They looked horrified. "I'll make it up to you!" Ciel called after her, before turning back to the Gym Leader.

"Are you ready to begin?" asked the man.

"As I can be," said Ciel as he tapped the button on Arden's capsule and released the excitable Cyndaquil to the field. His opponent did the same, revealing Tenku, his Pidgeotto. Bird and mammal stared each other down, Arden's flames raring at full blast.

Falkner inverbally motioned to the referee. The man raised a green flag high in the air, causing the entire crowd to dampen to a soft murmur. He ceremoniously brought the flag down. "Battle, begin!"

Ciel wasn't wasting any time and called an attack immediately. "Arden, use Ember!"

Falkner's Pidgeotto took flight on instinct and without its trainer's command, but the quick launch of the projectile grazed its foot before it managed to fully pull itself into the air. The bird shook its singed foot with annoyance.

"Shut it down, Tenku. Tailwind!"

He should have expected the Gym Leader would start with that so quickly. Now was a better time than any to test out their new move.

"Smokescreen," he ordered.

As the Pidgeotto flapped its wings and the winds began to pick up, a flare and a squeak signaled Arden releasing—more like belching—a giant cloud of blackened smoke from his mouth. The generated exhaust, which Ciel could guess was produced inside a Cyndaquil's stomach while its flame sacs were firing, quickly blanketed the arena, obscuring Ciel's vision from both the Gym Leader and his lead fighter. All that Ciel could see was an infinite black. The crowd gasped in surprise, amongst the reactions a motivation cheer from Ethan.

As the smoke cloud stayed relatively stable, he realized that his guess paid off. Tailwind wasn't a concentrated attack but instead the directional circulation of wind. That might have made Arden's bet fail to soar far, but it wasn't powerful enough to move the smoke cloud, or at least not quickly.

"That's a clever trick, Ciel." Falkner's voice echoed around the tower. "But realize that I've fought more Cyndaquils that most people will see in a lifetime. Tenku, use Gust!"

He realized that Smokescreen wouldn't necessarily give him the advantage, especially since neither party could see through the black cloud covering the arena, but it would be useful in buying some time. Relying on his hearing, he heard the Pidgeotto began to flap his wings. He needed to think of something fast.

A thought struck him. He hoped Falkner wouldn't figure it out in time. "Fire Ember in every direction! Absolutely all of them!"

He couldn't see the projectiles as they launched, but one suddenly sprung from the dark cloud and soared right past him on that side of the platform. A few more penetrated the cloud into the tower below, and a few screams told him that he may or may not have aimed a few in the direction of the stands. But none of those mattered.

With a thunderous blow, the Pidgeotto cleared the smoke from the battlefield using a concentrated Gust, sending the cloud in a wave past Ciel and dispersing it around the tower. With the obscuring cloud gone, Falkner had a clear shot.

"Aerial Ace!" shouted Falkner.

"Hold your ground, Arden!" he ordered. "Use Scratch!"

The Pidgeotto dove directly to him, rocketing from his position in the sky like a missile. The move was too fast to dodge. Arden was struck with a lunge from the Pidgeotto's claw, but miraculously the foot-tall creature resisted being knocked back by the powerful blow. He swung back with a swipe from his claws, locking both Pokémon into a fierce melee. Traded blows caused the amassed crowd to cheer.

Above him, a light came into view as it fell. This was his chance. "Arden, out of the way, now!" His Pokémon tucked into a ball and pushed off with his feet, rolling backwards and out of range.

"Use Gust!" called Falkner, trying to again capitalize on the opponent's small size. But, before his Pidgeotto could manage to beat its wings, it was hit. Hard.

During their training last week. Ciel had thought it would be productive to narrow down specific directions for Arden to use Ember. Simple stuff, like left and right, straight forward, diagonal left, diagonal right. Clovis was used as the target, whom he told to just try not to get hit. One of those directions was up. That didn't mean angled upward. It meant straight up.

None of the other Embers were intended to connect, but what goes up must come down. The crowd went wild.

"Tenku!" Falkner shouted as the Pidgeotto was awash in flames from the fallen burning bundle. It struck the bird directly on its wing, leaving substantial burns by the direct contact that were severe enough to force the bird to land.

Wow. He couldn't believe it! He managed to pull that dumb move off!

As Arden and Tenku stared each other down across the ring, the bird looking furious, Falkner gave a soft clap. "I'm… impressed, actually. That was probably the first time I've been genuinely surprised by a challenger in months. You've managed to both get a direct hit and burn my magnificent partner. I suppose my lesson about manipulated senses didn't go unnoticed, since you used the obscuring cloud to prevent me from seeing the Ember until it was out of my periphery."

Ciel felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, underlined by an iota of pride. He stared across the battlefield and he and Falkner's gazes found each other. The Gym Leader smirked. "I see a passion behind you that wasn't present before. I take it you've found your goal?"

"I have, sir," he announced resolutely. With a fist clenched in front of himself, Ciel remembered the discussion they had by the lake. Start small, with something personal to you. There was nothing more personal to him than wanting to protect his sister like when he was younger. He'd become a legendary Pokémon trainer for her and use his power to protect everyone he cared about.

"Then keep showing me what you've learned!" Falkner shouted. "Tenku, dash forward and attack!"

His Pokémon screeched its battle cry and shot off across the platform. It was fast! Even grounded, the bird was almost as nimble on its feet as it was in flight, using its long legs to bound. It kept its wings tucked low, apparently unable to use them without irritating the developing burns.

"Arden, get ready. Repeat Scratch!"

The two Pokémon clashed together once again. Arden was finally able to fight on equal ground. The Pidgeotto's claw swung towards his head. His Cyndaquil dodged to the left and followed through with an upwards blow from his claw, catching the larger Pokémon across the chest. However, upon the follow-through, the bird of prey returned its own swipe to Arden's exposed side, the force sending the small creature sliding across the platform towards Ciel. With a leap and a light flutter of its wings, the Piegeotto jumped back to its own side of the platform, though it was clearly exhausted and having difficulties exercising itself through the damage it had taken.

Arden tried to return to its feet to attack but was unable to pull himself off the ground. "Arden, are you okay?" Ciel asked. "Can you keep going?"

With a weak turn of its snout, his Pokémon turned to him and gave a soft squeak of affirmation, before attempting to return to his feet. He had taken a direct Aerial Ace and numerous scratches, not to mention he'd been moving constantly for the past five or so minutes. Even after regaining his bearing and returning to battle position, he was looking exhausted. His flame sacs were firing only weakly.

The referee noticed it as well and spoke up in a loud voice. "Challenger, is your Pokémon fit for battle?"

Despite the insistence, Ciel knew at that point that Arden couldn't go any further. There was no reason to put him through anything else, especially after he'd done so much. "No, sir."

The man nodded and thrust out his yellow flag. "The challenger's Pokémon is unable to battle! Please send out your next Pokémon, challenger."

A tension in his shoulders and a lump in his throat that had built up in the heat of battle disappeared as he walked over. Ciel kneeled by the Pokémon and rubbed Arden on his head. "You did great, buddy. You're way stronger than I realized and I'm glad you were willing to keep going. But you need to take a rest, alright?"

His Pokémon ignited suddenly, affectionately, and he nuzzled against the trainer's hand with his snout. However, the flames soon died down, and Ciel tapped the button on his capsule to return him to stasis. Due to the conscience displacement, Arden himself would perceive being instantly at the Pokémon Center after Ciel made his way over, so he wouldn't have to live with his exertion very long before he could start to recover.

"You've continued to impress me, Ciel," the Gym Leader complimented, standing behind his own injured Pokémon. "I'm sure a few more moments would have been enough to knock Tenku out of the battle, but you decided to save your Pokémon from hurting itself further even at the cost of your own performance." The man, with his eyes closed and a small smile, said, "caring for your Pokémon's wellbeing is just as important as forging a bond through battle. Unfortunately, I'm forbidden by the league to do the same."

Ciel tossed his other Poké Ball forward and released Clovis to the field. He chirped curiously upon fading into consciousness on the battlefield, looking around the platform and the gathered crowd until he noticed the much larger, older relative standing opposed. Even without the reliable measurement of seeing two in the same evolutionary stage, he could see that Clovis was  _tiny_  compared to the rest of his species. He hadn't really noticed before, but seeing his miniscule bird compared to the much larger and grander Pidgeotto really put it into perspective.

That didn't deter Clovis, of course, who issued his challenge in the form of an aggravated screech. The referee chopped down a green flag and the battle again resumed.

"It's grounded, Clovis. Use Quick Attack!" Ciel shouted.

His own Bird Pokémon shot into an attack towards his opponent, tucked in his wings, and ran the Pidgeotto through. Despite his small size, the combined effects of the burn's damage and the larger bird's general exhaustion left it collapsed on the floor of the arena with only a single attack from Clovis. He fluttered back over to Ciel, acting very satisfied despite doing little work.

"Don't get overconfident," he scolded the bird with puffed cheeks. "You haven't even done much yet." Clovis screeched at him. "I hate birds," Ciel said.

"Well, now," Falkner boomed. "You've defeated my first Pokémon and leveled the field, but I can assure you that you're going to be out of your comfort zone now. You'd only be able to practice based on what Pokémon you were expecting, but I've got a little surprise." As he brandished a second capsule, a disturbingly confident smile crossed the Gym Leader's face. His features seemed to be outlined in shadow. "You aren't the only one with an exotic Pokémon."

"What? What do you mean?" Ciel stammered, thrown off guard by the sudden change in demeanor of the man.

"Archen! Prepare for battle!" the man shouted, hurling a black and yellow object skyward. It exploded into a beam that formed midair. What was contained wasn't particularly intimidating, but the flying creature revealed was completely unknown to him. Red, blue, yellow, its body was a myriad of bright colors with an oversized, toothed beak. It looked downright weird.

The referee struck down the green flag again.

"Archen, use Rock Throw!"

In a stunningly disgusting display, the odd bird opened its mouth as wide a possible, gagged, and a softball sized rock hurtled out a high speed.

"Dodge it!" Ciel commanded.

Clovis snapped back into the air and deftly fluttered away from the trajectory of the rock, which slammed into the floor in broken shards. That thing was a Rock-type? Or, at least, it used Rock-type moves. And that was bad. Flying types tended to be susceptible to Rock moves because of how weak wing structures are in comparison to other types of appendages.

He needed to warn his Pokémon. "Clovis, you can't get hit by that. It'll be devastating." He hoped the Pokémon fully understood his words, but he doubted it.

Without command, the bizarre bird fell into a nosedive directly at Clovis, screeching on its way down. Clovis beat his wings hard and threw himself in a random direction to avoid being hit as the screeching missile soared past him and struck the floor of the arena. Ciel realized this left an opening.

"Dive and use Tackle!" he called. The Gym Leader was suspiciously silent.

Clovis tucked in his wings and bore his beak once again, streaking across the tower over the platform towards his opponent. However, Ciel realized too late that it wasn't just an opening. It was a trap.

"Wait, Clovis, hold on-"

He was cut off by the Gym Leader's own command. "Rock Throw!"

It was too late for Clovis to cancel his momentum and dodge. With another retch, the Archen launched a rock directly at the Pidgey. A veritable boulder for a Pokémon his size collided with his head. Clovis was knocked clean out of the sky and landed painfully on the platform, but luckily the bird was still conscious despite the clear damage.

Ciel wanted to slap himself. Here he was, warning his team member of the dangerous situation, but he ended up leading Clovis right into danger. They couldn't just attack from the front; they needed a strategy.

But how the hell was he supposed to beat a Pokémon like this that he'd never seen before? It didn't help that one of Clovis's moves, Sand Attack, wasn't feasible due to the terrain. The platform was a giant hanging slap of wood with nothing easy to kick up. Unless...

Ciel's eyes scanned around and noticed pieces of the earlier rock that had scattered upon impact when the lobbed projectile hit the base of the platform. Would it work? It wasn't as fine as actual sand, but it was worth a shot.

"I see you're struggling, trainer. You weren't prepared to face a Pokémon you hadn't encountered before," Falkner taunted. He shoved his arm out and issued another command. "Use Rock Throw again!"

He supposed spamming super-effective moves was a viable strategy in this matchup, but it was starting to annoy him. He only had one shot to counter, so he had to hope Clovis could make it count. The Pidgey had managed to pick himself up but clearly remained dazed by the impact.

"Clovis, I need you to use Sand Attack," he said.

The bird stared at him, puzzled, before he too realized the broken chunks available to him on the arena. Another retching sound told them that they had little time to react, but Ciel clenched his fist and hoped this would work. Clovis grabbed a collection of fragments in one of his talons and threw them across the arena towards the opponent.

Like throwing stars, the sharp pieces of the Archen's own attack peppered its body. Lightly, but just enough. It flinched as the pieces struck and the projectile barrelling up its throat misfired heavily and shattered against the battlefield floor.

"Tackle!" Ciel shouted.

This time, the attack wasn't interrupted, and despite the Gym Leader calling for his Pokémon to retaliate before Clovis could close in, the Tackle hit home as Clovis slammed his body into his larger opponent. The toothed bird wailed in pain, flailing its wings wildly and managing to take flight. Clovis hovered in wait.

Falkner let out a loud sigh. "I suppose we should wrap this up. As much fun as this has been, I'd say this match has all but concluded, Ciel."

"What do you mean?" the young trainer asked. "The battle isn't over yet."

Falkner threw out his arm. "Ancient Power."

The rocks fragments, just as he had used before, began to levitate around the arena into the sky. The Archen was coated in a faint pink glow, one that matched the odd energy surrounding the debris. He looked left. Then right. It was just like Pryce had done, but this time the rocks we're smaller. There were simply too many small fragments to dodge. In that moment, he knew there was nothing either of them could do. Every single piece converged at once on Clovis.

Clovis cried in pain and fell unconscious to the floor of the arena, scratched, scuffled, and beaten. After seeing a blue flag and the announcement that the Gym Leader was the victor, Ciel picked up Clovis and held the poor bird close as he recalled him to his Poké Ball. By then, Ethan, Lyra, and Raven had rushed amidst the cheers of the crowd for the Gym Leader's victory to see to their friend. Ethan was gushing about how cool the battle looked, while Lyra herself was impressed in a tamer way.

Ciel stood up, defeated, to meet the Gym Leader as he approached their group. "That was an excellent battle."

"I lost," Ciel said, dejectedly. He hadn't expected a victory in his first match and wasn't disappointed, but this time he'd held a genuine chance. And he blew it.

"And yet you managed to genuinely deceive me and used effectively creative battle tactics. You even managed to put up a fight against one of my father's own cherished bird Pokémon."

"The Archen is your father's?" Ciel asked.

"Yes. An import from Unova that he recently added to his aviary. He loaned the Pokémon to me to help train it up to evolve."

Ciel once again forked over some of his sparse cash, holding out a stack of bills to the Gym Leader. The man took the Pokédollars from his hand, but he left a small item. A hexagon shape with a cut. Ciel's eyes widened. "This is…"

"The Zephyr Badge. Your proof of conquering my Gym."

He was nearly speechless. "But I didn't even beat you in battle."

"That's not the point. The Pokémon League gives us discretion to decide who among their challengers are worthy of receiving the badge. You didn't beat me, yes, but you showed substantial improvement in a short amount of time, indicating how willing you are to apply yourself." Falkner looked him straight in the eye. "I'm don't  _expect_  people to beat me. I'm the third-ranked Gym Leader in the region. Well, second now, since Pryce retired."

He clenched his fist around the small object, elated beyond description at knowing that he'd succeeded. "Thank you, sir. I'll cherish this."

"Oh, phew!" Ethan exclaimed. "You mean I don't even have to beat the guy? That's a relief. I was starting to believe I'd have to give effort."

Lyra slapped him upside the head. "You're an idiot," she announced.

Falkner turned away from their group and began to walk back to his side of the arena, ready to return to his role. However, he stopped short, and with his back turn he addressed Ciel. "Don't consider this a consolation. It's a steppingstone. Once you start getting more and more badges, the other Gym Leaders won't give you the same courtesy to hold back."

The man turned his head. "Keep chasing your goal, whatever it may be. You'll be surprised how far it will take you."

As the air swirled in the tower of the Violet Gym, Ciel felt the flame he'd lit start to grow, fed by the wind of a first challenge. It had the potential to blow him out, but he'd pushed back hard enough to grow.

"Hey, Ciel," Ethan said, trying to catch his attention. "Lyra and I were going to eat out for dinner tonight. Want to come?"

He affirmed, but then thought for a moment. "I'm down. But I've got to do something first, if you don't mind. I'll catch up with you."

* * *

As the screen powered on, the face of his mother shined brightly in the private video booth he sat in. He'd opted against using one of the public monitors this time, even if it had meant waiting for a vacancy.

"Hey, mom," he greeted with a smile.

" _Ciel! How did your Gym Battle go?"_

He held up the Zephyr Badge. The sheer pride that ran through the woman's face in that moment was enough to make him feel a bit fuzzy inside. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.

" _That's amazing, honey! Tell me, how did it go? What did you fight against? Are your Pokémon okay?"_  She began rattling off questions, nearly too fast for him to catch.

Raven, who was laying across the seat and his lap, had mostly forgiven him for excluding her from the previous battle. Arden and Clovis were with the nurses, making sure that they had no permanent injuries and they were back to peak condition as soon as possible. He'd planned bring his team along when he went out with Ethan and Lyra so that everyone could get a reward for working so hard and conquering the Gym. Then they'd just rest a while.

"Actually," he began, "do you mind waiting a bit?"

" _Why? What's the matter?"_  his mother asked.

"Could you put? Laina on the phone? I'd like to talk to her for a bit."

" _Oh."_  She chuckled.  _"Of course, dear."_

When his sister finally greeted him through the camera, he started off immediately on what he'd done and seen in the month since leaving home. He ended up speaking to his sister for three hours, having forgotten how much he missed her company.


	8. The Great Cave Offensive

"Come on! Keep it moving, people. We don't have all day," Proton shouted. His voice echoed around the damp cave. The grunts he was assigned sped up their operation of extracting and transporting the tails of all the Slowpoke they could find. Wheelbarrows were loaded up with bloodied pink appendages and carted away towards the entrance of the well to be loaded up onto some waiting vehicles and shipped off.

He found it hard to believe that the dinky old well in the village held such a cave this large. Really, it was impossible to believe. With all the open space inside the cave, it meant that the well couldn't fill due to the lack of pressure to draw water upward. The dumbass villagers must have decided to "excavate" a well without understanding that the aquifer couldn't supply, meaning that the only way to bring the village water was to venture down with buckets. Some old folktales implied that the Slowpoke using Rain Dance brought water to the village, but he wasn't sucker enough to believe that.

Ugh. And that rancid smell. He felt his nose wrinkling so heavily it may as well have retracted inside his face. Droppings, mould, and even worse, the regular odor of Slowpoke. He was lucky the spring season was killing his sinuses or else he wouldn't have been able to bear it. As much as he tried to brush it off, the smell of death was getting to him.

A flash of metal brought his attention as one of the grunts brought down a cleaver. Proton clenched his eyes shut and looked away as the resulting howl harrowed his insides. He shuddered. When he finally found the courage to open back up, the Slowpoke was lying prostrate on the ground, the stump pooling blood behind it. Its plump pink body was shaking. Whimpering. Dying.

"Is someone getting  _queasy_?" a sing-song voice taunted him from behind.

He turned around to come face-to-face with the someone he'd been trying to avoid. That scary-ass smile never failed make his neck hairs stand on end. He ignored her, but she hovered around him like a city Pidgey that was getting too curious about the food he was eating.

"Of course not. I'd just rather be in the comfort of a dark room and a computer," he defended.

"You can't lie to me," she said, staring him down with those sharp, piercing eyes. "I can sense how much you hate this. All the slaughtering."

He caved and sighed. "Just… doesn't this bother you at all? What we're doing?"

She said nothing. All Proton got in response was her smile creeping larger across her face that disturbed him even further. "You're a fucking psychopath, you know that?"

The woman giggled. "You're funny, you know that?"

"Who even are you?" he asked. "The Boss called you, what, her 'secret weapon?' What is it you even do?"

"I cause chaos. Simple as that."

He raised an eyebrow. "You act like that explains anything, given what we do for a living. All of us are 'watch the world burn' types. You've gotta be much more specific."

"I cause chaos because Master wants me to," she chirped. It was sickeningly gleeful.

Who the hell refers to Ariana as "Master?" Was this some weird BDSM thing he didn't know about? And here he though she and Giovanni had a thing before. That was the whole reason she was making an effort to put the Rockets back in the spotlight—she was following his example. That was the word around the base, anyway.

A grunt wheeled past him with a wheelbarrow loaded with tails in a massive mound. The lackey looked for his approval and Proton nodded. He carried away the next load to be shipped. The echoes of pained cries continued around him, bouncing hauntingly around the walls of the cave.

"I don't think we were ever properly introduced. Call me Sird," the dangerous-seeming woman said.

"I'm Proton. That your real name?" he asked, confused as to why she'd introduce herself like that. "We're not supposed to use anything besides our codenames. Yours is Vampire."

"Oh, it's fine. Not like you'll tell anyone, little boy."

He winced at the diminutive reference. Simple as it was, it struck a bit of anger in him. "Oh yeah? And how do you know that, lady?"

He felt himself go white as the smile widened again. "You're Tomo Yoshinaga, an undergraduate student at Goldenrod University. You live on 1202 North Madeia Street, in apartment number 331B, living alone with two Meowth. You sleep in a twin bed with bright green sheets, and there are three band posters hanging on the opposite wall."

He said nothing and only clenched his fists at his sides, feeling a deepening mix of both frustration and fear. "How could you—"

She cut him off. "It'd be so easy to just sneak in, in the middle of the night, and just  _snap_  that lovely little neck of yours if my name so much as passes your lips." She traced a fingernail gently down his spine while he was frozen, bringing back shudders. "And I'll know. Even if you whisper it to yourself in some far Region, I'll be there." She once again giggled, and this time he realized it was purely a sinister sound. Meant to divert expectations and force people to drop their guard.

She finally decided she'd had enough fun with him and sauntered away further into the cave, leaving him petrified. He stood silently to the serenade of screams, cuts, and working machinery, as the inside of the cave lit up with criminal enterprise. Once she was out of view, he slowly pulled his cap down over his eyes and leaned against a nearby rock formation. He was beginning to wonder why he'd even gotten involved with this. Was a life of lies and threats really what we wanted? He was never even sure when he started.

* * *

Ciel's eyes widened in amazement as he took in the massive structure hanging above him. While traveling down Route 32 from Violet City, it had been nothing but verdant hills and minor brush. When he found himself crossing a bridge connecting two ends of a seaside bay, however, the shadowing magnet train rail revealed itself. Its metal pylons extended below into the water to support four different high-tech tracks. The young trainer was lucky enough to witnesses, if only for a second, one of the modern passenger vehicles zipping past him at an impossible speed.

Raven was disinterested, of course, so he quit his staring at followed his partner across the rest of the bridge. Ciel stared at the sea and followed the distant waves with his vision. Not much else occurred for a while after that

It was pleasantly surprising how easy the hike had been so far, by then five days from Violet City. Taking the plunge and crossing Route 29 that first time had really prepared Ciel for endurance walks, both physically and mentally. Plus, he'd reminded himself to overpack food when he left the city, and looking through his supplies, he was confident that he wouldn't run out anytime soon.

Of course, there were an overabundance of wilds he had to deal with. As he passed under a tree while passing through some woods, an ovular creature dropped from the canopy and landed in front of them on the forest path. A pineco, disturbed by their passage underneath its hanging spot, jumped forward to attack.

"Raven, dodge and use Bite!" he called.

His partner skillfully dodged the Bug-type's Tackle, sinking her teeth into its side as it flew past her. She tossed the opponent away, where it began hopping back and forth defensively.

"Quick Attack!" he ordered.

A lightning-fast jab struck out and tore into the wild Pokémon's side. However, it seemed to be waiting for this moment and its cone-like body began to darken. Its scales suddenly launched out in multiple directions, one of them clipping Raven across the face. She growled savagely in response.

To his surprise, something new happened. Raven's entire body flashed red as an unknown energy surged through her. She sprung forward and slashed her opponent across the front, sending the cone-like creature into the dirt with an unusually powerful strike.

"What in the world was that?" he asked as she inspected the unconscious body of the opponent. She gave it a few curious sniffs until she lost interest and began further into the forest. Not wanting the Pokémon to fall prey to something else, especially since they were technically in the wrong by encroaching on its territory, Ciel handled the vaguely prickly, vaguely uncomfortable creature and managed to nestle it up on branch. As they proceeded through the forested area they were traversing, he pulled out his notebook and jotted down the occurrence.

 _Suddenly becomes more powerful when hit by certain attacks?_   _I don't know what move was used, but it was a counter-type attack. More research needed._

He closed the notebook ceremoniously, stuck it back into his duffle, and continued.

His partner was his only active Pokémon for the time being, and only partly by choice. The nurses at the Pokémon Center in Violet informed him not to have Clovis active whenever they were traveling for a while, as the blow he took to the head from Falkner's Archen may have caused a minor concussion. It was nothing vad, but it meant that his Pidgey wouldn't be out of his capsule if the situation called for exertion. He did sub Arden occasion to get in some training, and he'd encountered and challenged another trainer at one point, so most of his team was progressing and the other pillar was taking a well-earned break.

While he'd been content to continue pitching his tent as they made their way further south down Route 29, Ciel was relieved when he came upon the first major sign of civilization since the Magnet Train rail: a wide Mareep ranch. Sitting atop the hills was a small cabin home next to some barns, with the entire estate surrounded by grazing fields for countless Mareep. Ciel could see the bluish-colored rock of some nearby mountains rising in the distance, which he assumed was where Union Cave, his next destination, was located.

The proprietor of the ranch, a woman named Ellen, seemed more than happy to accommodate him for a night, and even had a spare guest room prepared for such an occasion. She explained that trainers regularly stopped at her ranch on their way down the route and gave it some surprising popularity. It was even featured in a popular TV show, which Ellen was ecstatic to remind him about more than twice. Still, the hospitality was much appreciated, and he and his team relaxed for the night.

* * *

Tourist pictures, media, and every other description of caves didn't properly prepare him for how dark it was. As he felt his way through the cave, he realized it was only logical that no natural light would filter down that far below ground, but not working that out before he dove left him disoriented. He waved a burning torch around, casting light on the assorted rock formations. Arden had lit the torch for him as a substitute for the Cyndaquil himself.

"Hello?" he shouted. Ciel counted the echoes. At least six audible. "How deep am I?" he asked to no one. Though it was a fat chance, he'd hoped that he'd encounter some human life in the cave to help him navigate. Guess not.

The torch only illuminated a limited radius around his person, so he was relying on Raven's senses. Her species were reportedly found atop mountains and in mountain caves and it reflected in how naturally the Absol moved along the rocky floor, steering around large formations that Ciel couldn't see until they were a meter away. Her night vision was coming in handy.

They came upon a sign with a large arrow. A few of them had been scattered along the path previously and provided a rough direction through the underground tunnels. Union Cave was the only reliable way through the mountains to reach Azalea Town, so he trusted the land's directions to lead them out of the cave in no time.

No time turned into lots of time. A week, in fact.

Ciel wasn't even sure if that date was correct, as he'd quickly become so disoriented that it was difficult to tell which was up. He was having trouble recognizing his own sense of self due to the lack of light making one of his senses useless. His boot splashed into a puddle of water, and he held the dying torch in that direction, revealing an underground lake. He'd make sure to steer clear. The interior of the cave continued cramping further, and more than once he'd cut his face on an outcropping or stalactite he couldn't see. The signs supposedly pointing him in the right direction were long gone.

His torch was beginning to burn out for that day, but that led him to another problem. He tapped the button on Arden's capsule repeatedly to no avail. The mechanism would pop the ball open, but the materializing beam wouldn't fire. He found himself repeatedly triggering the mechanism and then closing it again, providing a tactile distraction to keep his mind off the fact that he was hopelessly lost. Why couldn't he release Arden, even though he'd been able to do it before? Without a source of light, he might never make it out of the cave.

He didn't usually panic, but this brought back memories of the strange dream he had inside the Ruins of Alph. Down in those catacombs, he was surrounded by an unexplainable feeling of loss and dread, and here, he was beginning to feel… helpless. The same kind of fear of being lost and alone. It was starting to get to him, as was his physical condition.

Constant coughing told him that there wasn't nearly enough oxygen within the depths of the cave as he moved. His clothing, revealed under the dying light of the torch, was covered in dust, as likely was his hair and skin. Plus, he wasn't feeling too great without having had a "proper" meal in a few weeks, but he was surviving. There was enough food with him to last at least another week—Ellen had given him some canned foods alongside a portable stove and some cans of methanol gel, almost all of which was Devon branded. The Devon Corporation made really high-quality outdoor gear for trainers, among other things like certain Poké Ball varieties licensed from the Pokémon League. So, that gave him time to find his way out.  _If_  he found a way out.

After deciding that he wouldn't make any more progress that day—or night, he couldn't tell anymore—he felt around for an open spot and sat down to look through his duffle. Raven realized curled up next to him when she realized he'd stopped moving. The trainer gently stroked his partner's back, which gave him some needed stress relief. He took a deep breath and began unpacking his food supplies to prep a meal.

Using one of a sparse supply of matches, the fuel canister lit up, and he poured out a canned dinner into a pan. The blue flame from the can increased his visibility a bit, and he tried to rekindle the torch, but to no avail. The wood was too far gone. He considered busting out his emergency flashlight, but he wasn't sure how long its batteries would last in constant use and he wanted to save the extras in his bag. Ciel stirred the barely lit dinner, a fatty combination of mystery meat, potatoes, and other assorted veggies in a congealed broth. He left it to simmer for a while.

"I'm not sure where we're going, girl," he absentmindedly told his partner. "Sorry I messed up. I should have found someone familiar with the cave before we moved through here."

Without any bowls, he left the pan on the stove and began eating directly from it, occasionally holding out a spoonful for his partner. It tasted mostly of salt, and while the fatty concoction was hardly a proper meal, it wasn't altogether unpleasant. Ciel left the fuel can burning and hoped that no wild Pokémon were interested in their campsite. He'd already encountered enough Zubats and Geodudes for a lifetime.

As he was about to lie down to sleep and hope they could find an exit over the next day or two, he became aware of movement. Loud, dangerous movement. He and his partner both shot up to ready position and cast their eyes into the darkness. Raven, with her better vision, bared her teeth and sickle at whatever was approaching far before he could even realize what it was. A breath held itself in the back of his throat.

"Yuse Flahsh!" a voice shouted.

The entire cave was suddenly engulfed in light as rays from a new source shone like a sun in front of him. It was abnormally bright and Ciel was forced to hold his arm to his face to shield his eyes. For how long he'd been in darkness, it was a visual whiplash to be spontaneously hit with such a brilliant burst.

"Oi knew Oi had 'eard sumone down 'ere," someone said in a heavily accented voice. He heard a loud, jovial laugh in front of him, and as his eyes slowly acclimated to the new light source, Ciel pulled his arm below his eyes to see the person that had arrived. It was a behemoth of a bearded man in hiking gear, wearing a jacket and a sporty hat. His form was… bulbous.

"Who are you?" Ciel asked, still somewhat apprehensive.

"Oi'm jus' a traveleh who lives 'round dese 'ere pahts. Mah name's Russel. Mos' jus' call me Crag."

"I'm Ciel," he offered. "Wait, you live down here? As in, you  _live_ here?"

"Yea!" he exclaimed. "Oi've gotten ah cabin up on dah surface, but Oi mohstly spend me toime down 'ere with me Pokaymon."

Ciel was having trouble understanding the man, but he could clearly hear the word 'Pokémon'. Speaking of, the source of the light was a large creature of rock with four arms extending from its round, fragmented body. The Graveler had used the move Flash and was currently emitting some weird bioluminescence that shone like a lightbulb. Either way, he found himself happy to see the two. Raven walked up to and exchanged glances with the other Pokémon. They must have come to a silent agreement because his Absol was back at his side soon after.

Ciel offered the man the remains of he and his partner's meal, to which the man gave a hearty thanks and downed the remainder of the canned dinner in one gulp. "Tha' hit dah spot!" exclaimed Crag, who rubbed his stomach exaggeratedly. The man sat down across from Ciel.

"If you live down here, you must know these caves pretty well, right?" Ciel asked. "I think I'm lost, and I can't seem to call any of my other Pokémon from their Poké Balls. Sorry to bother you about this, Russ— err, Crag, but could you help me out?"

"Course ah can! Dat's what Oi do!" He laughed another bellowing, jubilant laugh. "If ya fallow me fer a whoile, 'ou'll be ou' in no toime."

Ciel gave a sigh of relief. This was the second time he'd chanced upon a stranger to help him through the wilds, and he couldn't be anymore grateful for it. Plus, it made the cave a bit less isolating. It was clear as Ciel watched the giant man yuck it up that he was a friendly guy, with his strange demeanor and accent only making him more approachable.

"And, jus' for da recahd," the man began again, "ya can get sum trooble wit yer Pokay Balls when ya get real far down. It's dat, err, broadband! Dem balls got that powahful internet wit yer computer tah send Pokeyman back 'n ferth, 'cauze dey ain't actually in da balls all da toime. Fer safety! But it ain't too great when yer too fahr down an away from da towahs."

"Really?" Ciel asked, pulling out Arden's capsule and rolling it over in his hand. He assumed that Pokémon were stored in the Poké Balls when you registered a party, but if what Crag said was correct, all of his non-active Pokémon were always in the PC. Really, that did make sense. If you accidentally stepped on a crushed a Poké Ball, a Pokémon didn't die, since it wasn't really in the Poké Ball to begin with. The capsules were just a connector between the PC and reality.

Still, it wasn't very helpful if his Poké Balls couldn't connect, but with Crag's Graveler lighting up the area around them, Ciel figured that he wouldn't need Arden until they surfaced. He packed up his temporary campsite. "Hey, Crag, if you're willing, could we head out? I've been down here too long already."

"Roight now? I gess so, but da ya moind waitin' a tad? Oi'm on da lookout fer some rare Pokaymon."

"Rare Pokémon?" he returned, hoping he was hearing right.

"Year. Come wit me for ah bit if 'ou'd like."

And so, Ciel and Raven found themselves following the odd, nearly incomprehensible stranger named Crag through the depths of Union Cave. The man regularly stopped to examine things on the floor, guided by his walking lantern, making note of strange markings or paths otherwise imperceptible to Ciel. Whether they were going deeper into the cave or making their way towards some exit was up in the air.

"D'y'ear dat?" Crag asked in a voice that slurred nearly the entire phrase together.

"Uhh, no," Ciel said before attempting to tune his hearing to whatever the man had noticed. "Is something happening?"

"Oiyea, sumthins' happenin a'roight. Jus' listen." The man suddenly gripped a nearby rock and pressed his head and ear to the piece of earth. It was an undoubtedly odd display and even his own Graveler acted somewhat confused. He and the living lamp shared a look before Crag sprung from the rock and began racing down the cave.

"Hey, wait a moment!" he called before breaking into a sprint to tail the surprisingly adept hiker. Raven and his Graveler broke off as well to follow the man. Fearing that he'd lose his only ticket out of the cave, Ciel tried his best to keep up along whatever trail they were supposedly following. Then he began to hear stomping, loud stomping, and knew they were getting close to wherever they were going.

Crag suddenly stopped in his movement and held back, forcing Ciel to backpedal as he nearly overshot the man. He looked around, not sure what they were looking at. In front of them just looked like complete darkness, even with the Graveler's Flash shining around the cave.

"What are we looking for?" Ciel asked. The stomping was painfully audible, but he could still see nothing."

"Git over 'ere and see fer yerself," the man offered.

Ciel peered past him into the darkness of the cave, which had opened slightly from the narrow passages they had been navigating before. He squinted his eyes in, trying to look for anything of note. Suddenly, two bodies charged from the sides of his vision and savagely met in the middle. With horns locked and teeth bared, two Rhyhorn wrestled for control of each other in a test of strength. Each made a push against their opponent, trying to knock them away and prove their superiority, but they were caught in a deadlock. Neither was able to move the other unbreakable creature.

Raven bared her sickle and fell into a battle position, ready to defend if either of the Rhyhorn came after them. Their stalemate ended as Ciel heard a sickening crack. The armor surrounding one of the Rhyhorn's horn shattered and its opponent seized the opportunity to throw it to the ground. The victor roared triumphantly.

Ciel realized that those two weren't alone. The masses of stomping they had heard were veritable hordes of the armored, bipedal Pokémon standing on opposite sides of the cave like two opposing military forces at war, ready to charge. Among the Rhyhorn were even larger creatures that stood tall on massive legs, exposed bellies revealing a reptilian form, with drill-like structures crowning their large heads. The leaders of each pack. Rhydon.

"Now ya see roight 'ere," Crag whispered, keeping back, "dese Rhyhorn are rare 'round dese parts. Ya gotta git real deep in da cave to foind 'em. And roight 'ere is a battle fer territree between two of 'em social units. Oooh! Dey're goin at it!"

The Rhydon roared, the forces collided, plates flew, and blood was spilled. Ciel could feel the repeated impacts of the powerful Pokémon slamming into each other and throwing opponents around, trying to gain the upper hand and stake their claim to this part of the cave. They seemed to ignore the onlookers, even though the Graveler's glowing body very clearly gave them away. One Rhyhorn bit down and took a chunk out of another. That group's Rhydon screamed in anger and retaliated, ramming its horn into the attacker and tossing it against the far wall of the cave, where it laid motionless.

Ciel felt a breathing down his neck and slowly turned his head to face an excited Crag. "D'y'wanna catch ona 'em?" he asked with childlike excitement.

Looking back at the carnage, Ciel felt like he wasn't in the mood to get gutted. "I think I'll pass."

"Aww, yer no fun. Still, ya gotta look out fer da personalitee in 'em Pokaymon out dere. Look a'dat feisty guy roight dere." The man pointed to a Rhyhorn that was wildly flailing at any attackers, not letting them inside its sphere. The defensive gesture was wild and uncoordinated, but it had gone undefeated since the battle broke out. "Dat one's prolly ah real beaut of ah powahouse, but it wouldn'ta listen ta ya. Or dat one, wit its horn out an runnin' 'round picken 'em off." As he said, another Rhyhorn skirted around the edge of the battlefield and prodded others already distracted in a brawl, acting much more mindfully, and as a result it hadn't taken much damage. "Dey can be more agile 'n smaht dan dey look."

Despite the real pain a lot of the wild Pokémon seemed to be in, Ciel found himself captivated by the dynamic of it, unable to turn away. This was the kind of act that inspired battle between trained Pokémon, and the reason why Pokémon were inclined to fight. The creatures had positive biological responses to social relationships and combat, it his memory served, such as releasing growth hormones and strengthening the immune system. As teams, they were growing and learning for each side's benefit. The Rhyhorn were putting a lot of emphasis on a team effort, with allies of one clan covering each other's sides, charging as a group, and even blocking blows for them.

One specifically caught his eye, however. A small one, most likely a younger Rhyhorn that hadn't reached full maturity. It was cowering behind its clan leader, relying on the protection of its older brethren. The size difference reminded him of Clovis's small stature, so perhaps that's why his attention was drawn to it.

A sickening crunch made him cringe as one of the Rhydon rammed its drill-like horn directly into the belly of the other. It tried to fight back, but the injury seemed devastating, and what measly claw swipes it could throw didn't stop its opponent from running it through to the wall of the cave. The victorious Rhydon roared as it withdrew and then brandished the blood-covered horn. As if the moral of the group was shattered, the side of the defeated Rhydon soon fell as they were overpowered. Each Rhyhorn was charged, bitten, scratched, stabbed, and nearly all of them conceded defeat to the superior family.

Except for one.

While the Rhydon was injured against the wall and its unevolved pack laid defeated on the cave floor, the young Rhyhorn barked up. It growled and bared its own horn, stepping forward to issue a challenge. It angled itself to the side so that its body could block as wide as it allowed to defend its fallen comrades against further attack. Even as the victorious Rhydon stood ominously above the runt, its courage never faded. Even as its scales shattered when a giant strike from the Rhydon's horn pierced its side, it stood back up and continued growling through the pain. It would protect its friends even at the cost of its own life. One final hit sent it to the ground, where it stayed down along with its pack.

"That one," said Ciel.

"Wha?" Crag seemed confused. "Da lil one? It's got ah big 'eart but it ain't near as strong as dey come. An is injured now."

"It's not about power. That Pokémon is exactly who I want to be. I want to be strong enough to protect people I care about, and it's throwing everything it has even though it knows it can't win because protecting comes first."

The man seemed to silently agree, and the two trainers watched as the battleground cleared out. Victorious, the winning Rhydon led its Rhyhorn away from the unmoving bodies of the others. The message was clear that the territory belonged to the victors, and those of the losers that could move began dragging away other members of their clan that were too weak to stand. Even the losing Rhydon managed to stand and sulk off despite the gaping wound in its stomach. Ciel assumed the worst, that those that weren't moving and weren't being carried off were dead. When the area was finally clear, Crag moved to check out the scene.

"Now dat was some roight powahful stuff. Ain't dat kin'a display jus marvelous, ah real example of da natural world? Oi can' balieve how extraordinary da' was!" The man examined the bodies of some of the fallen Rhyhorn, as did his partner, who sniffed them with a vague curiosity. She even tried taking a bite out of one of them but found their shells too hard. Yuck, he thought.

Ciel stood over the young Rhyhorn, seeing that it was seeping blood and numerous plates were missing. But it was alive. Even among its larger clan members, it had somehow survived a direct attack from the enemy Rhydon, but it had been left behind. Maybe its clan assumed it had died.

The trainer kneeled next to the creature, who weakly bared its teeth.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" Ciel told the Pokémon, knowing that it probably couldn't understand his speech.

"Bettah be cahful, it moight bite ya," Crag told him as he hovered over the two. "Depens on how it loikes ya. Speakin' from exparience."

Ciel offered its hand out to the creature, which had managed to flop over onto its stomach. "You looked like you really wanted to protect your friends. Why don't you come with me?" he asked, smiling down at the Pokémon. "I can help you get stronger, and then we can protect everyone together."

Whether or not his words were heard was irrelevant. The Rhyhorn hesitantly sniffed the trainer's hand, and with a bit of wariness himself, Ciel placed his palm on the rocky creature's head. It seemed calm, at peace.

He pressed a Poké Ball against it, and miraculously the capsule engulfed the Pokémon in a red glow. It faltered a bit, and the light seemed to flicker, but in an instant, the Rhyhorn had disappeared. Ciel held the Poké Ball tightly in front of himself.

"Welcome to the team. I think I'll call you Hector."

"I tought ya wasn' gonna catch ah Pokaymon?" Crag said.

"I thought so too. I guess I just liked that one."

"Well, Oi can take ya oit of dis here cave now. Gotta bit distracted meself." The man laughed loudly at himself. "'s jus' a few hours to Aza'ea Tahn, ah tink."

"Right," Ciel said, making sure he had everything in order as he stashed the new Poké Ball into his bag. Raven stood at his side, obviously just as ready to be out of the cave. "Ready when you are, Crag. We need to get this Rhyhorn to a Pokémon Center."

"Ya know, yer'n interestin' kid. Yer a trainer, roight? Tell me a bit more 'bout dat, will ya?"

Crag and his Graveler led the two the rest of the way through the cave. The interesting man had interesting stories to tell, and he could tell they were getting closer and closer to some kind of end to the dark passageways he'd been stuck in for a week. A new party member and a new friend, both in a single day? Getting lost hadn't been so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Happy holidays to those that celebrate any of the myriad of end-of-year ones! I've posted two chapters as a present (even though it's technically just to do catch-up across the multiple places I'm posting, shh) and I hope you enjoy. Some actual plot happens in Chapters 9 and 10, so stay tuned.**
> 
> **Next is Chapter 9: Three's A Crowd. See you then.**


	9. Three's a Crowd

" _In other news, Professor Linden Elm, a League-sponsored Pokémon researcher from New Bark Town, is under investigation by Indigo League authorities. The Professor reportedly allowed a rare Pokémon to be stolen from his workplace by a juvenile and has been cited for lack of responsibility, which surfaced previous complaints by associates for his questionable and disorganized practices as a scientific professional. Officials at the Indigo Plateau are reviewing his position with the possibility of termination. The thief is still at large after a failed search by local police turned up nothing but his name: Silver Sakaki. He is described as an adolescent with bright red hair, red eyes, and a scary face. Please contact the Pokémon League or local police if anyone matching this description has been seen in your area."_

It was a recording, not a live radio broadcast, that she had taken to listening to since she first heard it at Mr. Pokémon's house. Lyra clamped closed the screens of the Poké GEAR, feeling her hand clench around the closed device. "Damn it," she muttered.

Damn it. Damn it.  _Damn it._ She wasn't that angry, not really. She was just so…  _frustrated._ She'd have punched a tree if there were any nearby for some physical stress relief, but unfortunately, she and Ethan were training in a flower meadow made of the titular blossoms of Azalea Town. Not a punching bag in sight.

Lyra was a person who believed in dependability. Nothing, she told herself, was more important to her than being a pillar for people to lean on. She wanted people to turn to her for help, maybe because it selfishly brought her some joy or because she felt obligated to do it, but her place was wherever she could help the most. She made the executive decision that Ethan needed her help, so here she was still following her childhood friend. If she hadn't agreed to accompany him during his Gym Challenge, he would probably have been dead at that point.

Ethan, who was being harassed and prodded and stung by angry Beedrill that he'd disturbed while trying to pilfer honey, called for help. "Ow! Lyra! Marigold isn't helping me right now! Do something!"

His dazed-looking Chikorita tried weakly to Razor Leaf the angry insects, but it was clear that she lacked any energy. The special attacks dissipated immediately as she released them.

"What did you expect to happen, Ethan?" she remarked sarcastically, still frazzled from her own thoughts. The girl stood in the flowers about ten meters away, undisturbed and disappointed. "You keep recalling and releasing her at different times of day. Even if she's sleeping well, you're throwing her circadian rhythms out of whack due to the time displacement from the Poké Ball."

Ethan pointed solidly at her. "You and I both know— ow— that I don't know what that means." A Beedrill stung him in the arm.

"Just use a Repel, you idiot!" she shouted and sat down amongst the flowers. She grumbled.

"Oh, right, that's what those were for," he said. "Thanks Lyra!"

Lyra stared off into the meadow, hoping to find something to soothe her thoughts. The pleasant aroma of the flowers, perhaps, that smelled airy and hit the nostrils like a minty breeze? The daytime sky that was ever so slightly overcast, causing a cool dampness and balancing out the brightening sun? Any part at all of the meadow that was supposedly the most beautiful place this side of the continent? No, none of that made her feel any less disappointed at herself for not being able to rescue the stolen Pokémon.

It was her responsibility, her mission, her entire goal for the past month, and it was going nowhere. She was not a single step closer to helping the professor keep his job and making sure that his Pokémon was safe, despite people they'd talked to regularly claiming that they'd seen the person they were looking for, even as far down as Azalea Town.

Hell, having thought it over, she realized she was possibly at fault for the Pokémon being stolen in the first place. When Ethan got punched by the delinquent, Lyra rushed to help him and ignored her only real chance to take back the Poké Ball and turn that asshole in. There was no attempt by her to stop him then, and she passed on that chance without a second thought. She had to choose who she could help, and maybe she chose wrong.

She clenched her fists in her lap hard, almost enough to draw blood. Then she relaxed. There was still nothing for her to punch.

The girl felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Ethan hovering over her. His swollen purple face flashed teeth wide and he sat down next to her. There was a comfort in his presence despite him looking like a plague victim, and she appreciated the physical contact. It reassured her some.

"I guess you're still thinking about the guy, huh?" he asked, to which she made a vague and half-hearted hum of affirmation. "You know, it's not all doom and gloom. We've tried our best to look for the guy, and despite nothing turning up, we've had a lot of fun, right? All that adventure and detective stuff?"

"If you're trying to cheer me up, you aren't helping. That Totodile could still be being abused and the professor might lose his job, all thanks to me."

His smile didn't falter, and from his backpack he pulled out the large egg. It still hadn't hatched but was starting to shake regularly. "Life is like… this egg. It looks perfect on the outside, but it can crack and ruin the look. But, even when it's cracked, you can peel it off to find something inside that still tastes pretty good. So even when it looks bad, life tastes pretty good."

Lyra snorted and then began to laugh. Not because it was genuinely good advice, but because the metaphor was just stupid enough to cheer her up, even if only slightly. "You're an idiot," she said. "If you're waiting for it to hatch, you probably shouldn't talk about eating it. That's insensitive."

"Hey, it got you going, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did," Lyra said. "You win, Ethan. If you're done trying to rob the Beedrill, we should probably get to the town before it gets dark."

Her friend sprung to his feet and barreled off in a random direction towards a forested area, holding the egg up high. "Last one there is a healthy egg!"

"Wait, but that's not— and you're going the wrong— oh, forget it!"

* * *

As a voice picked up, Silver kept himself squarely hidden behind a tree as he oversaw the operation.

"Alright, you're all loaded up. Take it down to the coast, we've got a transport ship waiting," said a man in a black garb. A blazing red "R" stuck out like a brand burnt into the skin, marking whose heel those goons were under. The doors to a van slammed closed and the vehicle climbed the hill, speeding off into the forest through a vague split in the trees.

Those damn bastards. They thought that they wouldn't be found out just because they were out in the boonies, but whoever was in charge did a poor job of covering their tracks. A bunch of weaklings waddling around with some Slowpoke tails. If they thought bullying some stupid endangered Pokémon proved their superiority, they were naïver than he thought.

He stopped himself. No, Ariana knew better. She just needed the money for whatever she was planning. She never cared or minded much for reputation and presentation. Not like her predecessor. Just the thought of that no-good, low-life, posh-ass piece of shit got his insides boiling.

Silver needed to bust out and show those weaklings who they needed to fear. They'd learn to fear the name of Silver Sakaki, and he'd spit in their faces. All of them. If they thought he was so weak, he couldn't wait to see the faces of pure terror as he beat them senseless and declared himself superior. He'd revel in it.

So why wasn't he moving? It had been nearly an hour since he took his position and three of those black vans had already driven off. He knew where they were, he knew what he could do, and he needed to take action. But he was doubting himself. What if he wasn't strong enough and was made a fool of by those vile weaklings?

Silver shook his head. Fearing defeat also make him weak, and he could justify losing if only to prove to himself that he could still get stronger. He wasn't afraid of trying. Really, he knew what the problem was, but he'd just been avoiding it. It was the potential that Ariana was there. That he'd have to see her again and talk to her face to face. Silver Sakaki wasn't ready for that. Maybe he'd just take some more time to scope it out. Yeah...

With a bit of hesitation and a cautious glance at the men standing by the opening of the old well, he took off through the forest. Silver's feet flew as he ran, and all the while he tried to rationalize that he wasn't running away. He was just going to get stronger, bring himself right back, and beat them all within an inch of their lives.

He looked back to make sure he wasn't being followed, and when he turned his head back forward to keep running, a sharp pain ran through his head in an instant as a fist smashed into his nose and knocked his world out.

* * *

"Hey, could I help you up?" He asked with an extended hand.

The girl struggled on the ground against the root she had accidentally wedged her sandal under, making some cute sounds as she did so. That was unimportant, though.

"Yes, that would be very nice. I seem to be a bit of a bind," the girl said. She was wearing a rather elaborate kimono that had been unfortunately soiled by dirt at its hem.

"Here, let me take a look," he said, as he kneeled down next to her. She pulled up the gown slightly to reveal the root, a sizable growth that she must have accidentally shoved her foot into when she tripped. With some force, he pried the root loose, spraying dirt everywhere as it dislodged.

The girl looked distraught because her nice gown had been dirtied further. He wiped off what he could with his hands and then helped the girl to her feet.

"Phew. Thank you, good stranger. Might I ask your name?"

"I'm Brent Custos," he said, "and I want to be a hero."

She laughed. "Well, I think you've done that much for me today. My name is Zuki Dento."

Brent focused his eyes, noticing a tinge of familiarity in her face. "Hey, have I seen you somewhere before? Are you famous or something?"

"You could say that," she said, covering her mouth with her hand in a timid gesture.

He had noticed that she spoke very formally, every word coming out soft and dignified. And her robe was definitely not casual. The only one else he knew who ever wore something like that was his Nana, and even then, that was saved for rare occasions. However, the stranger before him stood proudly in full ceremonial getup, her hair and makeup done up and her bright red and green kimono accompanied by tabi and geta.

Now that he thought about it, she was wearing the same kind of outfit as traditional dancers he occasionally saw on television. Cherrygrove didn't have much of a traditional history, so he never saw any performances in person, but he was sure that's what this girl was. He wasn't an expert, however, and didn't want to make any false accusations, so he decided not to ask.

"Say, why are you out here in the middle of Ilex Forest? You look like you're ready for a ball."

"Oh, that's a bit of a story," she said. "In short, I was on my way to the shrine near here and I seem to have lost my way. I'm sorry to ask this of you, but would you mind taking me there?"

"Sure!" he responded quickly. "I'd love to help."

"Thank you, kind stranger." The girl bowed, and he felt a flush of embarrassment in his cheeks. It felt nice to be thanked so genuinely.

He tapped Sentret's capsule to release his partner, who perked up to attention upon regaining consciousness. The Pokémon stared expectantly up at him.

"Okay, Sentret, can I ask you to scout something out for me? We're looking for a man-made structure somewhere around here. It should look like—" he paused.

Zuki interjected. "A small wooden house with a sloped roof."

"Yeah, like that. Can I ask that you help us find it?"

His Pokémon nodded exaggeratedly, his ears perking up high to sense the land around him. He stood tall on his own tail.

"I'll whistle every minute, so you'll always know my position. Once you find it, beeline back to me, and then we can just retrace your steps in the correct direction. Okay?"

With another hearty nod and a cheerful cry, his Pokémon proceeded on his given mission. It was clear that his partner was happy to explore through the forest, and all Brent could hope was that he wouldn't get sidetracked. Oh well. If he did, he'd have a little more time to get to know his new friend.

"That's very odd," she noted.

"What is?"

"You don't nickname your Pokémon. Most trainers do so."

"Well, I just don't see a reason to," he said while scratching his head. "I'm not some moral opponent to Pokémon training, but sometimes I feel like it's wrong that we take Pokémon out of their natural environments. It's our job to protect them and hopefully give them a safer life than in the wild, sure, but I like mine to keep their wild names. It's a connection to their natural home and I don't want to take that away."

Zuki said nothing and seemed lost in thought. He stared at the girl, realized that she was very attractive, and tried his hardest not to be nervous in her presence. He was failing. Her hair was a beautiful dark color and her eyes a lighter but comforting brown. Even in full-face make-up, he could tell that she'd look just as stunning without it. He felt himself heating up like a star-struck idiot.

She looked over at him finally but didn't seem to notice how flustered he was. "You're a very kind person, Brent Custos. I think I'd like to know more about you."

He waved his arms in front of himself to deflect the compliment. "It's just a weird ideological thing, it's not really that meaningful. Scientists gave Pokémon their wild names so it kinda falls apart when you think about it…" He laughed awkwardly and trailed off.

Trying to find a distraction, Brent put two fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle, after which he began mentally counting to sixty. Then he whistled again. He continued this for five minutes, until a scurrying sound snapped him back to attention. The Sentret burst through the trees, bouncing happily on its tail, indicating that it had found something.

"You found something already?" he asked. "You're really amazing, Sentret. Do you mind taking us back there?"

His partner bounced a full turn and took off into the forest, beckoning for them to follow.

"This way, miss," he offered. "The shrine shouldn't be too far that way."

"You have my gratitude," she said.

He and the kimono-clad girl walked off, looking for the supposed shrine. As they ventured forward, all he could think about was the very proper lady next to him. Even though he was in over his head, it was his job first and foremost to be a hero and help people, so he swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and proceeded deeper into Ilex Forest.

* * *

Lyra casually wiped the blood off her right knuckle. "Not my preferred choice for a punching bag, but  _damn_ that felt good."

"Geez, Lyra, don't you think that was a bit much? You're going to scare the baby," Ethan said. The swelling in his face made his voice sound off.

"Shut up and help me tie him up. Chikorita can grow vines from those spots around their necks, right? See if you can get Marigold to stretch one out for us."

"She's still tired, but I'll give it a shot."

Ethan released his partner from her capsule and instructed her to create some vines for them. As he did so, Lyra dragged the boy to a nearby tree and set him against for the time being. She tore off his jacket and rifled through it, locating his collection of Poké Balls. One, two, three. A Zubat, a Gastly, and… a Croconaw? So soon? She threw the jacket back at him haphazardly.

Ethan handed her a bundle of vines and Lyra took to wrapping them multiple times around the tree. Tight. By the time Silver woke up, he wouldn't be going anywhere. As she gripped and pulled the vines tight into a knot, she felt a certain satisfaction.

"Are you  _absolutely_ certain that this guy is who we're looking for?" asked her friend. "His hair is longer than I remember, and I really hope you didn't just punch some random trainer out here."

"He's probably been afraid to stop somewhere to get it cut because the police have been looking for him. Either way, I'm sure this is the same guy. Kind of lucky for us to find him in a place like this. I'm almost glad you didn't know where you were going."

Ethan shrugged. "When do you think he's going to wake up?"

A pathetic-sounding groan answered that question, and the boy's red eyes flashed open.

"Well, well, well," said Lyra. She sneered down at the thief with her arms crossed.

"Ugh. Where… am I? Augh." the red-haired delinquent was still dazed, and his nose was leaking blood, some swelling already apparent. His eyes met hers. "Hey, I know you. Wait, why am I tied up? Why does— ow— my nose hurt so bad?"

Lyra cracked her knuckles, where a bit of drying blood still lingered. The realization across his face quickly turned to anger, and immediately he began to thrash against the vines securing him to the tree.

"Let me go, you fucking weaklings! I don't have time for this!"

Lyra held up her Poké GEAR. It was flipped open and set to its call application, where a phone-number was already entered. She kneeled in front of the red-haired boy and showed him the number. "The police," she said. "Do you have time for them?"

He stopped, and with a grumble, he rested his head back against the tree. "What the hell do you want from me?"

"Technically, we've already got what we want from you. The Professor's Poké Ball. He told us that he couldn't deactivate it from his PC until we knew for sure it was in stasis, since he'd risk permanently releasing it if it was active. So, mission accomplished."

Lyra released the Pokémon in question from the Poké Ball, and she watched as its form materialized. The reptilian creature had already evolved, gaining a considerable amount of bulk and muscle. It stood about thirty centimeters taller than before, much of that height being a large red crest that had developed from the red spines its previous form had. It was larger, meaner, with larger teeth and a stronger jaw, and the first thing it did was try to clamp its teethed jaws around her leg.

She pulled back on instinct, accidentally dropping the capsule, and swiped a Poké Ball of her own from her pocket, releasing Maron onto the floor of the forest. He immediately readied himself, pulling his small arms up on the defensive.

The Croconaw threw itself at its opponent with its jaws wide, trying to take a chunk out of her partner. "Maron, dodge to the left!" she called.

Her Marill planted its tail and pushed off, using the spring momentum to fly out of the way. The large reptile smashed into a tree and flailed its jaws wildly. It let out a deranged cry. It was going crazy!

"Maron, use—" she cut herself off as she examined her opponent.

Its body was coated in cuts, lacerations from battle… or something else. As well, its arms, sides, legs, every single part of the reptile had some purple bruising, as if it had been repeatedly beaten and not allowed to heal. As it recovered, it panted heavily, and it was clear that it was tired. Very tired.

"You… you poor thing," she said. Lyra bent and picked up the capsule she had dropped, knowing that the Croconaw probably had very little left to fight with. It had just lashed out in defense. She recalled both Pokémon and tucked them back into her pocket. "The Professor and some nurses need to see it and fast. I'll talk to the Professor so he can de-activate this Poké Ball and register one at his lab."

"Like hell you're taking that back. Fuck your professor and fuck you! I need it more than he does!" he spat with malice.

This time, Lyra felt rage. She grabbed the boy's collar tightly, pushed her face right up to his, bearing down at him with as much authority as she could muster. Her own anger, while colder and more reserved, cast through her eyes clear enough that Silver's own expression dampened. "You've been abusing this Pokémon the whole time, haven't you? You're a poor excuse for a trainer and an even poorer excuse for a person. You don't  _need_ anything, I have absolutely  _zero_ sympathy for you."

"And you gave me a black eye!" Ethan chimed in.

The boy gritted his teeth, and a small amount of wetness was apparent in his eyes. A line of blood was still trailing down his face from his nose. Lyra roughly released him and walked over to a different tree to lean against. "Ethan, keep an eye on him. I'll call the Azalea Town Police."

"You got it!" he exclaimed. Ethan sat down in front of Silver with the egg in his lap.

However, as her Poké GEAR began to ring, the red-haired thief spoke up. "Wait!" he choked out through tears.

Lyra gave him a cursory glance but paid him no mind. She wasn't waiting for anything.

"The Rocket Syndicate is killing Slowpoke in that well nearby, you can go see for yourself. The police are going to take almost an hour to get here. Are you sure you want to let all those Pokémon die?"

With a bit of hesitation, she ended the call and slowly lowered the device.

"What the heck is the Rocket Syndicate?" Ethan asked.

Lyra had heard about it a few years ago when the news was fawning over it. Every day was a new story about something the Rockets were doing. "A crime group from Kanto. They were beaten by some kid and rounded up by authorities about three years ago."

He spit some blood onto the ground and looked up at her with damp eyes. "Yeah, and now they're coming back, I've seen it myself. Aren't you some goody-two-shoes or something? You should do something about it instead of worrying about me."

"And why should we believe that you're telling the truth?" she pressed. "This is obviously just an attempt for you to escape the police."

"Because I want to take those weaklings down! I wouldn't be here if not for them!" he spouted, suddenly. "I needed a Pokémon so I can get stronger and make those assholes  _regret_  what they did to me."

Among the seething hatred he seemed to give off and his near-permanent sneer, Lyra could have sworn she saw a tiny bit of sadness hidden behind it all. A tiny voice crack and those tears. She was silent for a very long while, clenching her Poké GEAR in her hand tightly once again, feeling unfortunately like she sympathized with whatever he had gone through, despite his actions. It seemed so genuine.

"You aren't seriously considering listening to him, are you?" Ethan asked her. "I think I'd trust this egg's word more than the guy who knocked my face in."

And he was right. That was weird. But some part of her still wanted to be the helper, even to the guy who was so clearly abusive towards his Pokémon and had been making Professor Elm's life a living hell for however long. Lyra decided on the spot that she'd play this by ear and see where it went.

She pulled off her large mushroom-like cap and held it in front of her, using her other hand to run through her brown hair. She sighed heavily. Damn it. Lyra hated her sensibilities, because beyond the swearing and disgusting personality, she cared more for the chance to help Pokémon and what she assumed was some hidden cry for help.

"Silver," she said. "I'm feeling pretty good right now. I've been wanting to punch something all day, and you've let me do both that  _and_ find the Professor's missing Pokémon. So, we'll entertain you for now and you can show us where these supposed 'Rockets' are, even though I know you're trying something."

He grinned, seeming much less vulnerable than before. It was probably all just a ruse to get her to drop her guard. Great. "I knew you'd come around. Now get me out of these… what are these, vines?"

Ethan released the knots from behind the tree and Silver stood up, wiping his face clean with his jacket. It was the first time she'd managed a good look at the boy, since their first meeting had been so action-filled. He stood far taller than her, his red hair and eyes being the first things she noticed. He put his jacket back on, the same article from when he first stole the Totodile. It was a dark piece with a red-trim outline. It looked a few sizes too big on him and dropped to his mid-thighs.

He put a hand forward. "If I'm— we're going to take out the Rockets, I'm going to need my Pokémon back."

"You're just showing us the way. You're not getting anything back until I say so. If I  _ever_ say so."

"Fine," he said, frowning. "It's this way." He began walking off through the trees.

She and Ethan shared a look before continuing. Even without words, she knew that look. 'What in the world do you think you're doing?' it said. She held up the Poké GEAR to him, showing a text messaging application open on the small device connected to the Azalea Police's number. She quickly typed a message about the situation and their location before pocketing the device. Maybe it was devious of her, but whether Silver was lying about some criminal operation going on or not, either he or them would be interesting to the police. Ethan shrugged, and the two followed Silver's trails.

She knew that Slowpoke Well was around this area, but they'd had no incentive to go looking for it since it was supposed to be fenced off and guarded. Slowpoke were an endangered species that had a history of poaching, explaining the giant "WARNING: NO TRESSPASSING" signs that began to appear as they sped through the forest, marking different perimeters around the well's central location.

This was the second time the two found themselves sprinting through the underbrush after Silver, even if the situation was slightly different. She could feel her calves begin to burn because she and Ethan's activities that day had already worn her out. However, she pushed herself on, this time not for Silver, but for the potential to save helpless Pokémon. Maybe the situation  _wasn't_  so different.

After about five minutes, Silver suddenly stopped, and Lyra and Ethan came to a halt with him. The trio overlooked a small crater, the earth sloping down where the well had originally been dug. In its center lied the concrete well itself, surrounded by a large electric fence. It wasn't running, judging by the noise—or lack thereof.

A few men in black were hanging on the inside of the fence by an open gate. Their dark clothing was marked across the chest with a bright red "R" logo.

"See, I wasn't lying to you," Silver said to her with a bit of a sneer. "The Rockets are in there and I plan to destroy all of them. And their leader might be in there as well. I don't know." An unexplained hesitation was apparent by a voice crack, which he coughed to try to cover up.

"How many are inside?" Ethan asked in a low whisper.

"I've been hanging around a while and I've counted at least twelve to fifteen different people. There might be more in the well itself."

Ethan gave him an incredulous look. "As much fun as it is to beat up bad guys, how can we handle all of them at once?"

"I hadn't figured that out yet," Silver said, "but the best bet is to try to sneak around and lay low."

Lyra's stomach turned with a horror as another man climbed out of the well holding large buckets filled with blood-splattered pink tails. They were still leaking, and the men were handling them as if they meant nothing at all. As soon as the small hit her nose, she nearly vomited. There had to be at least ten tails just within those buckets, and she could have sworn that there were full hundreds inside the open doors of the black van sitting idle. It made her sick beyond just the physical, and she could feel a pure anger rise up once again.

She balled a fist at her side.

Silver and Ethan tried to work out a plan, but by the time their attention had returned to Lyra, she was already inside the fence. The men shouted. She summoned Maron. A few of them rushed at her, but her fist was already swinging and made sickening contact with a face, sending him to the floor.

The two other trainers were shouting at her to run, but she called for Maron to attack.

If she was there, no other Pokémon needed to get hurt. She was a helper, and if helping the most possible meant knocking some heads, she was ready to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I personally think it's a good creative practice to completely ignore the primary protagonist on occasion.**
> 
> **Happy New Year! 2018 was one hell of a year for me, and I had a lot of things happen and change during that time. For one, I finally began writing this story, which had been in various developmental stages for a long time. Outside of that, my life has been changing drastically, and while I'll spare the details, it really does feel like I've come a long way as a person since last January. Last year was a productive one for me, so here's to another year of change and growth.**
> 
>  
> 
> **My primary resolution is to write more, and judging by this chapter, which is the closest to a one-week turnover I've ever gotten, I'm making some progress. I should note that, from here on I'll start releasing chapters as I complete them, because I've found that I have motivational troubles making advanced progress on the next chapter while a completed one is in limbo waiting for a regular posting time. Maybe that will help me not forget to do so.**
> 
>  
> 
> **We finally get back to Silver! It took longer than I had initially planned for him to return to the story, but he'll become a recurring character from next chapter onward. He's going to be more fleshed out than in the original games, which'll include a popular fan-theory that I'm a fan of myself involving his red hair. You know the one.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Though I'm mostly going off of what's given in game, I was a little tripped up by Zuki's attire and character background, since I'm not very acquainted with the customs of Geisha/Meiko as a western fan of Pokemon. I'm going to have to read and research a bit more to make sure I'm handling the culture well. And before anyone asks, I realize that it's supposed to be Naoko who is found in Ilex Forest in the original game, but I changed it since, of all the Kimono Girls, Zuki is the only one who is plot-relevant here.**
> 
>  
> 
> **I'm already planning for the next bunch of chapters to an event/story arc that will introduce a ton of new characters and hopefully just expand the world, building off of a number of hints and tidbits I've scattered in the previous chapters. I'm thinking of requesting an SYOC-type thing because I'll need some miscellaneous characters to fill things out, but I'm still mixed on that idea. It would basically just be passing off work to other people, and I should probably not make a habit of being lazy.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Anyway, enough rambling about my plans and life. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you'll come back next time for Chapter 10: Vendetta. See you then!**


	10. Vendetta

Lyra dropped from the ladder into Slowpoke Well. The heavy footfalls behind her told her that Ethan and their new "acquaintance" followed her lead. However, she wasn't really in the mood to think about them. Instead, she was far more focused on fixing this problem as fast as possible. Especially as the smell of death hit her nose.

It was revolting. Not the kind of revolting that made her laugh and shy away, but the kind that made her choke on her own breath and fear what was coming next. That nearly-boundless, deathly odor of rot. It was overpowering her other senses, but she couldn't pull herself to turn away, even when blind sighted by the overstimulation. She didn't want to find where it was coming from, even though she knew very well what  _it_ was.

A large doorway stood in front of them. Carved from the rock itself, it separated the well's entrance from the greater cave inside. She placed the headlamp taken from the unconscious guards on the surface around her bulbous hat. Ethan and Silver each got one, too.

Ethan spoke up first. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

"If we don't," she said, "it'll be too late when anyone else does. Let's go."

The police were too far out. Any extra hour they waited condemned however many Slowpoke to mutilation. Lyra wasn't sure she could handle the guilt if she didn't take action now. A helper didn't hesitate. A helper would throw themselves at the first opportunity to make a difference, no matter how dangerous. Even if they couldn't stop the criminals conducting this operation, they could at least stall for time until the police arrived.

The trainer unhooked her overall straps and reattached them as they fell around her legs, then rolled up her sleeves to her upper forearms. Sweat was already beading on her forehead. She tried to tell herself that it was from the cave heat as she stepped through the doorway and switched on the headlamp.

The interior of the well was a spacious cavern, measuring about twenty meters in height. As she directed her head, the stolen headlamp revealed the contours of the rocks lining the walls and ceiling, and she could see drips of water that likely permeated through the above soil. Many of the descending stalactites reflected a deep blue glow, crystals of a shadowy color. The same kinds of mineral growths scattered the floors of the cave between bodies of water.

"Your friend seems really focused," Silver said behind her.

"When she gets like this, nothing can stop her," Ethan said. "She gets an idea in her head and she doesn't let it go 'till she's through with it. If you ask me, it's pretty scary."

Puddles appeared before her as she stepped through the cave. The only way she knew the other two were still following her was hearing the successive splashes following her own. Her nice shoes drenched with a disgusting, murky ooze with every foot she placed down. A chill ran up her spine as her head and chest were sweltering. That deathly odor was closing in.

"There's some standing water to our left," Silver said, "and I see lights across the water. I don't think they know we're not their own guys yet."

"I've noticed," Lyra told him. "Just shut up and let me concentrate."

A hand roughly grabbed her shoulder. On instinct she spun around and swung, which Silver caught with his hand. The headlamp shone up at him, and even through the squint his mood was made clear. "I didn't come down here just be bossed around by some bitch faking her own authority. Now get that light out of my fucking face before I repay you my bloody nose," he snarled.

She wrenched her hand away and refused to back down. "Need I remind you that we're being  _nice_ by helping you fulfill whatever vendetta you have against these criminals?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I don't think I've implied I need or want your help," Silver said coldly. "You're completely insignificant. Hell, I don't even know your names. That's how much I care about either of you.

"Then let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Lyra Kotone, that's Ethan Hibiki. Happy?"

"I still don't care. You two are dead weight and I could easily do this without you."

"Could you do it without your Pokémon?" Lyra asked. Her fingers brushed against the smooth capsules in her pocket.

An absolutely indignant expression of furrowed eyebrows, bared teeth, and clenched jaw stared down at her. He was truly intimidating, even dangerous, and the only reason she had any control over him was that his "weapons" were nestled in her right pocket. "I'm not faking my authority. Right now, you're on  _my_  leash, because you aren't worthy of being a Pokémon trainer."

Lyra felt the punch coming before she saw it. She twisted her head and felt time slow around her as his knuckles flashed past her face. The droplets of water crossing from ceiling to floor, splattering into the cave water, were audible in the moment, as everything else was quiet.

The instinct to defend herself kicked in again. The girl curled her own fist and aimed up towards his stomach. He grabbed her wrist before the impact and squeezed. Hard. She let out a loud, painful cry and tried to pull away.

Staring back up at him only confirmed her thoughts over the past hour. He had a sick grin on his face, reveling in his superiority in the exchange. A troubled child with no way to express himself but through violence. Someone who didn't grow up around nice people and someone who had seen more than most adults. But she still didn't feel sympathy for him,  _that_  she stood by. No, she felt pity. Pity for what he made of himself despite it.

Ethan thrust himself in between the two of them and pushed them as far from each other as his body would allow by extending his arms. Silver let go of her and neither of them made a move.

"Look, I know we've had our differences, but if we're still doing introductions, I'd like you guys to turn your attention to a new friend who might help solve our problems." He extended his arm, motioning with his palm. "Both of you, meet Crazy-Eyed Rocket Gangster Who Probably Wants Us Dead."

She and Silver's heads turned in unison towards the open space that Ethan's headlamp revealed. There stood a crazy-eyed Rocket gangster who probably wanted them dead. His irises faced opposing directions and she could see tar in his mouth as he spoke into a walkie-talkie with a minor accent. "Heya boss man, we've gotta problem, but I can handle it."

The cave came alive with a red glow as two parties readied their Pokémon. All around her, the sudden flash reflected off the blue crystals to return a brilliant purple for a split second. She released Maron from her capsule. The Grunt unleashed an intimidatingly large, tailed creature, covered in tan fur. It stood on two feet and gnashed its huge front teeth together. It was Rattata's evolved stage, Raticate. There was no warning, no referee, no asking if they were ready. This was real.

"Norve, use Bite!" he shouted, causing the giant rodent to spring into action.

"Pound it with your tail!"

The Raticate lunged forward, but Maron swung his tail like a flail directly into the rodent's cheek, sending its bulk crashing into a stalagmite. Over the past few weeks, Lyra had been studying over her Pokémon to gain a better understanding of her team's fighting abilities. Almost all Pokémon species have an innate ability, and Maron's was called Huge Power. At the level they were fighting, his physical attacks would be far beyond any of his peers and the impacts would be devastating.

"Norve, focus ya energy," he ordered the rat. It complied, and in its quick recovery, its entire body emitted a soft glow.

She needed to stop that charge. Something long-range, like Bubble. Her Pokémon opened his small mouth and released a stream of pressurized bubbles from his mouth. They popped painfully against the rat, and only after the attack connected did she realize she neither got the chance nor needed to order the attack. However, despite the flinching reaction to the bubbles exploding around it, the bulky Pokémon was undeterred and completed the focusing action.

"Ya in for it now, girlie!" taunted the grunt. "Norve, try Bite again."

"Be on guard!" she ordered.

The tan rodent broke into a sprint, and Lyra realized too late that it was a lot faster than she expected. Its small feet powered its large body across the rocks in seconds, and it lunged, teeth bared forward, feet off the ground as it rocketed the last two meters.

"Dodge it, now!"

It was too late. The sickening sound of tearing flesh flooded her ears. A splatter distinct from the ambient splashes of water told her all she needed to know. Maron batted away the Raticate with its tail to dislodge the clamped bite. Under the headlamp light, she could see a tear in the Marill's rounded side. His small breaths, hitched. His movement, staggered. It became clear then to Lyra just what kind of trouble she had driven herself into, and just what the stakes were. These criminals wouldn't be afraid to hurt them, to put them as far down as possible that they couldn't get up. They were in over their heads, a bunch of kids trying to stop organized criminals set on doing wrong. She should have realized what she was playing at before diving into the well.

However, as the small rodent reared up for another attack and the gangster heartily soaked in her partner's injury, a flash of green from her side flew past and smashed into the Raticate's face. The rat turned its cheek back, furious at the new opponent. Ethan and Marigold stood ready behind her, and even though the Chikorita's exhaustion was apparent in her drooping leaf, she began to glow green again to ready another Razor Leaf. Ethan gave her a thumbs up and wide smile. "Marigold might not be in top condition, but we're not going to let this guy take you down."

Right. Even if they were in over their heads, they were in it together. "You're both idiots," she said, relieved, "but thanks for the help. Can you still fight, Maron?"

Her Pokémon, injured as he was, croaked out an affirmative squeak. It raised its small blue arm like a fist-pump.

"Let's finish this quick, Ethan," Lyra said.

"Right! Marigold, launch it!"

The Chikoritas swung her head around and fired the Razor Leaf, the crescent rushing across the battlefield. Both the crazy-eyed grunt and his Pokémon moved to react. He called out for the Raticate to dodge, but she took this as her opportunity. It wouldn't be able to dodge both attacks at once!

"Spring from your tail and Pound downwards!" commanded Lyra.

Maron fought back his pain, wound up his tail and launched into the air. He soared, and the weight of his tail rotated his body mid-air, building up momentum as he twirled faster and faster. The Razor Leaf flew past the giant rodent, who dove to the side to avoid taking another strike to the face. It was left wide open.

She swung her arm out and shouted. "Do it now, Maron!"

Her Pokémon released a battle cry and carried into his own airborne momentum. He brought his tail down as hard as he could, and the flail-like ball smashed into the Raticate's head. She could feel the force of the hit radiate outwards as the sheer power of the impact drove the creature into the ground, cracking a crater into the floor of the cave rocks. It was unconscious, unmoving.

The gangster revealed that he didn't have another Pokémon to fight with when he reached for his walkie-talkie again and frantically tried to speak into it. "Boss, we've got a—"

His warning message was cut off when a fist smashed into his cheek. The man staggered and fell onto his behind and dropped the communication device onto the floor. Silver's foot smashed it to pieces. The delinquent grabbed the man.

"Where the hell is Ariana?" he prodded.

"The fuck you talkin' about, kid?" the man choked out, spitting up phlegm and tar. "The Boss wouldn't do some grunt work like this herself. And who's askin', anyway?"

"Silver Sakaki is asking, you piece of garbage," said the boy. "Now who is running this operation?"

"A new guy, name's Proton." A flash of recognition crossed the man's face. "Sakaki, huh? I've heard about you. Not many good things, I'd say."

Silver must have decided that he had enough information, because before she could ask any questions, he stood up and reared his foot back. Lyra tried to call out to stop him, but she was drowned out by the sickening sound of the boy's kick to the man's head. The grunt was out cold. Silver cast his attention to Lyra, and once again she realized just how intimidating he was.

"Hopefully now you've learned your lesson," he said. She didn't respond, still shocked at him knocking the gangster out. "Your Pokémon got hurt. We're not dealing in fair fights down here, and they'll start coming at us once the realize this guy isn't responding. I need you to give me  _my_  Pokémon or else none of us have a chance."

Lyra realized that she had never taken her hand out of her left pocket. She hadn't taken her hands off the capsules. Silver extended a palm.

She made an impulsive decision to venture down into the well, when she could have easily left it to the police. The boy's truthfulness was still in doubt, but he led them to the Rockets, so she was willing to believe his statement that at least fifteen other gangsters were hanging around in the cave, chopping off tails. Each was probably a trainer. They were hopelessly outmatched. To win—and hopefully save some Pokémon—she needed to make another impulsive decision.

With her hand held out, she dropped the capsules into Silver's own. His grin was unsettling. Whether it was genuine or deceptive, she did not know.

"That's the best decision you'll ever make."

* * *

The Pokémon Center in Azalea Town had a back patio, a nice patio that overlooked a flower patch. The bloom of mid-spring made the flowers explode with color, and though his pollen allergy could stand to lay off, Ciel found himself drinking in the seasonal aroma. He sloshed around a glass of green apricorn juice, courtesy of a juicer in the Center's cafe. He'd arrived in Azalea that afternoon and was enjoying time off with his team after a week setback in the depths of Union Cave.

He was nose-deep in a book in a reclining chair. An avid reader he was not, but there was still so much for him to learn about Pokémon.  _The Eighteen Types: A Novice's Guide to Pokémon Biology and Battle Strategy_ acted as a starting point, along with a few other texts he'd picked up from the town's library on the whim of needing to know what they had to offer.

As he got to a passage about the Dark Type, his partner's own classification, he looked up a moment.

"That's weird," he said. "I feel like I should be doing something important right now."

Ciel looked to his left, then his right, then gazed out over the meadow. Then, he returned to his book. It was probably nothing.

* * *

"Crunch!" shouted Silver.

Despite its adeptness, the swooping Zubat couldn't prepare for its opponent leaping into the air. The Croconaw savagely crushed the flying Pokémon's left wing within its jaw, both crashing to the ground in the aftermath. The reptile then set upon the fallen, broken Pokémon in a frenzy, scaring the Rocket commanding it into hastily recalling her fallen team member and disappearing further into the cave.

"Our battle's not over yet!" he shouted at the grunt who had all but disappeared from their limited vision. Silver recalled his own Pokémon and frowned. "Weakling. I wasn't done with her yet."

"It doesn't matter," Lyra told him. "There's water to our left and a wall to our right, and if we could see lights across the water, it seems like the entire ground here is just a curving path towards an end point. Like a crescent."

"So, you mean none of them could be coming from behind us?" asked Ethan.

"It's possible, but since none have yet, I'm running on the assumption that they can't. If any of them want to leave the cave, they have to go through us."

"If there's only one path, why haven't we seen any Slowpoke, dead or alive? They should be all over this place, 'cause it's named after them and all. Or did  _they_ name the well?"

She ignored the last statement, but not the validity of his question. Only two answers came to her mind. Either there's more to the interior ground of Slowpoke Well than they assumed and there were cavernous passageways they had yet explored, or there really was only one path. The latter meant that the gangsters had simply been working their way to the end and taking any Slowpoke with them.

They found the answer to Ethan's question and the origin of the rotten odor soon after.

The entire time they'd been in the well, a bit of lingering doubt held fast in the back of Lyra's mind. Though they had seen the Rocket gangsters and some of the detached tails on the surface, she wanted to tell herself all along that Silver was just playing games with them, even after he followed her inside and they began working as a team. She had no reason to trust him but her own responsibility to herself. However, all doubt was eliminated from her mind when they found it. The source of the smell towered over them.

A rotting mound of corpses stood as the operation's flag. The lumps of flesh were so discolored and crawling with insect Pokémon larvae that they were hardly recognizable as the Slowpoke they once were. But, if a vague collection of whimpered cries were any indication, some of the bodies in the mass were still, and pitifully, alive.

Lyra felt completely justified when she leaned over and released the contents of her stomach. Ethan rubbed the small of her back to try to calm her down.

Standing next to her, Silver was unphased by the decomposing pile. However, he seemed focused, and suddenly turned his head to one direction. "Does anyone else hear that?"

Lyra wiped her mouth on her rolled sleeve and focused her own hearing. Among the present drips around the cave, she tried to focus another sound. More Rockets approaching? No, it was something else, like a scraping of metal against rock. Like the sharpening of a knife. Multiple ones.

The girl found her bearing and slowly made her way around the giant pile, resisting as best she could the nauseous urge to vomit again. They were nearing the end of the accessible cave, and beyond the pile, previously obscured by its large form, were the many lights they witnessed as they entered. Slowly, the trio made their way forward, and came upon the heart of the operation.

Large halogen lamps were set up alongside portable generators and various wheelbarrows and buckets littered the rocks of the cave, and she could even see fishing poles set up by the water. Stains of blood appeared around their feet under the powerful lights. Their own headlamps reflected as they hit the shining blades of cleavers and knives held by the members of the Rocket Syndicate who all noticed their approach.

"Hey, what the hell are they doing here?" one asked.

"You kids are in the wrong place!" another said, furiously.

One was in the process of a downswing, and she noticed too late as the cleaver came down upon a pink form. Lyra screamed.  _"No!"_

A Poké Ball flew silently and tapped the Slowpoke, dematerializing its form into red light that retreated into the capsule. The gangster's cleaver smashed into the stone below where the Pokémon used to be, sending sparks flying. The small ball shook once, twice, three times, and then went motionless.

Ethan rushed past her side and tackled the Rocket to knock the cleaver from his hand. Her friend snatched the Poké Ball from the ground before retreating over to the two other trainers. "I may not know much," he said, "but you guys are the bad guys, we're the good guys, and we're here to stop whatever this is. You got that?"

"Ethan, you may be insufferable sometimes," Lyra began, "but I'm really glad you're here with me. Keep that Slowpoke safe."

"I'll ignore the part of that that wasn't a compliment," he said, before a confident look crossed his face. He readied Marigold's Poké Ball.

She and Silver did the same as the Rockets in front of them all turned their direction and summoned Pokémon of their own. She counted six, no, seven, eight, nine different people. Numerous Zubats, Rattata, Spearow, Houndour, Koffing, and Ekans all materialized in front of them. They were severely outnumbered. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she could feel it in her head. This was it.

One of the Rockets held up a hand and no one moved. He stepped forward under the light, shadows highlighting an unsightly smug expression. The young man, maybe in his twenties, with green eyes and teal hair under a small cap, was wearing an outfit with more flair than the rest of the muscle they'd encountered. If she had to place a bet, this was the guy in charge.

"What do we have here? It looks like a couple of walking, talking problems have come to town," he said. Lyra noted an annoying quality about his voice, a combination of suave and overconfident that made him out to think a bit too highly of himself.

"You must be Proton," Silver said while stepping forward to meet him. The two stared each other down.

"Great, if you already know me, the Coolest Guy in the Rocket Syndicate, then we can skip introductions. Now, we've got some important business going on here, so I'm going to need you annoying fucks to stay down so we can decide what to do with you."

"I don't give a shit who you are," Silver spat. "I'm here to make a statement, and you're in my way."

"And what statement would that be, kid?" the man raised an eyebrow.

Lyra needed to stop him before he did something reckless. No one was moving, so it would probably be a good idea to just stall instead of getting into a fight. They didn't have enough battle-ready Pokémon to take that risk. "You shouldn't antagonize him. He could be a lot more skilled than—"

He cut her off and spoke up. "My statement is that I'm not weak anymore. I could stomp on all of you without a second thought, and I want Ariana to know that.  _You hear me?_ If you're the guy in charge, tell your boss that Silver's back and that she's going to regret throwing me out!"

Silver was part of the Rocket Syndicate.  _Was_. She should have known; the similarities between him and the criminals opposing them were uncanny. It explained his behavior and his vendetta, but that just made her fear even more for his Pokémon. That's why he was so cruel and unfeeling towards his team. He learned from the best. The thought made her fist curl again.

"Sorry, kid, I'm a bit new around the base," Proton said, seemingly making a joke out of it. "I have a hard time believing you were part of the Syndicate. Are you even an adult?"

"I was a Rocket. I did everything I could to live up to Ariana's expectations. But she said I wasn't good enough. I wasn't  _strong_ enough. She took my Pokémon and threw me aside like I was nothing." There was limitless venom in his words. Lyra couldn't comprehend his anger. "I'm back. I've got new Pokémon now, and I got strong."

Proton began laughing. "That's rich, kid. You make this big deal about yourself, but you can't talk to her yourself? If you were a Rocket, then you probably know where to find her. I bet you're just being a pussy and failing to own up to your own hot air."

Silver screamed. The battle exploded as Croconaw rocketed from its Poké Ball towards the man. Every one of the grunts moved at once called out attacks, forcing Lyra and Ethan to respond in kind. All hell broke loose.

"Mega Drain!" she commanded Ray as he flew from his Poké Ball. Maron was too hurt for her to continue fighting with him.

Hundreds of tiny green particles, glowing in the darkness, emerged from Ray's round body. They floated in the air for only a short period, before his concentration sent them towards the Rattata and Zubat that had found him in their sights. The particles seemingly dissipated as they contacted the bodies of the enemies, but their lunges weren't stopped. She waited.

As if suddenly too tired to function, the attacking Pokémon harmlessly flew past Ray and hit the ground. From their tired bodies, green auras separated themselves from their beings, floating back to rejoin with Ray. The move had just sapped their energy, leaving them vulnerable for a short while.

She couldn't hold her breath, though, as immediately more opponents were upon her. Another Rattata emerged and swiped out its claws, raking a wound across his front. The sprout rising from his head was harmlessly batted in response, but the pitiful counter couldn't prevent him from taking repeated scratches up close. He wasn't meant for close-quarters combat.

"Lyra, out of the way!" called Ethan behind her.

She didn't question the command and ordered Ray in kind. "Ray, jump backwards!"

As soon as he was clear, she could see the shape of a crescent in her periphery, aimed at the sky, glowing brighter as it streaked towards one of the hanging crystals. The Razor Leaf sliced through the hanging formation, and in silence it fell downward. As the Rattata reared for another attack, it was smashed into the ground by a shattering meteor of crystal shards.

Lyra turned her attention towards Silver and his brawl with Proton, the leader. The boy called out for his Pokémon to use Ice Fang, and it obeyed. It threw itself recklessly towards the Koffing even as it spewed poisonous gasses, sinking its teeth into the levitating body. As blood spilled, ice crystals formed amongst a shroud of mist. The Koffing let out a garbled outcry of pain and began spewing even more gas. The boy called out for his Pokémon to use Crunch, and it obeyed. It grabbed the purple mass and pulled it to the ground with its claws, viciously taking a bite out of another part of its body. It crushed the flesh of the Koffing within its massive jaws, inadvertently releasing even more poison gas. The Croconaw was choking on its breath, and as it jumped back to its trainer, she knew it was dangerously poisoned.

That didn't stop Silver from ordering another attack, and the Pokémon obeyed. Proton, realizing that he was losing his battle, drew two more Poké Balls from his black suit and added a Golbat and a Spinarak to the battle. Silver immediately countered with his own Gastly and Zubat. Neither trainers were skilled enough to manage a triple battle and both parties devolved into ruthless melee. Silver was losing. Only his Croconaw had the raw power to go toe-to-toe with Proton's own, and in the three-on-three, she watched his team begin to fail.

Meanwhile, she had her own problems. The two Pokémon she put down with Mega Drain were beginning to recover. She shifted her position and found Ethan at her back.

"We need to end this fast, Ethan. I'm not sure how much longer we can go, especially with all of our Pokémon in such bad shape," she warned.

"I hope you have an idea, because I sure don't. I'm not good at ideas," he said. "Cover your mouth. Marigold, Poison Powder!"

She held her sleeve up to her face as noxious spores whirled in the air around them, keeping some of the approaching Pokémon at bay, buying them just the smallest amount of time. Lyra counted three Rockets on her side with ready Pokémon, all of them with the same intent to put them and their Pokémon down. They needed more power. All of them.

"Uhh, Ethan," she said, realizing something with Ethan's bag against her own back. "Why isn't the egg in your pack? I can feel it missing."

"Wait, what do you mean? It's been in there the whole… time." He felt a hand back, realizing the shape of the bag was much flatter than before. "Gulp."

"Did you just say 'gulp' out loud?"

"Lyra, look at the ground."

She cast her headlamp down, where scattered pieces of shell caught her attention. They formed a trail, and she slowly moved her head to follow where they lead. She barely realized that everyone there, Rockets included, had stopped in curiosity, all their gazes focused on the small pale creature wearing half of an eggshell on its bottom. It squeaked cute, baby squeaks.

The Pokémon, obviously not realizing the horrible brawl that was supposed to be occurring around it, waddled over between Silver, Proton, and their legions of Pokémon. Neither could take their eyes off the walking proof of the miracle of life.

Ethan choked. He was crying. "I've never been prouder in my life. Lyra, it's taking its first steps already. They grow up so fast." She elbowed him in the side, and he shut up.

Ethan's Togepi raised one stubby, short, pale arm. No one had yet moved. While continuing to make curious chirps, it began slowly wiggling its limb back and forth. She couldn't tell what in the world it was doing. Trying to get their attention? The Rockets began murmuring amongst each other. She saw one shrug. They had no idea either.

A small orb of light appeared. From directly above the Togepi, it rose into the stagnant cave air. Her head followed, the small sphere radiating brilliantly, until it reached a crystal on the cave's roof. The Pokémon itself looked so pleased with what it had created, and sat down, content, on the rocks of the cave. Then, the ball burst.

All at once, the cave came alive with a shimmering blue light as the radiating waves from the orb cast, reflected, and shone from the various crystals in the cave. Her vision suddenly became completely clear, and her skin tickled with a familiar warmth. It was almost like the cave had moved outside, into the bright and blazing sun.

As a powerful shine surrounded Ray, she knew what happened and what she needed to do. "Silver, Ethan, get behind me,  _now!_ "

Neither questioned the occurrence and Ethan dove to grab his newly hatched companion out of the way. Silver recalled all his Pokémon, leaving only the still-stunned Rockets as both boys took their places behind, Proton shouted at his grunts. "Get your asses moving, you idiots! Take them down!"

Ray's ability, Solar Power, had been activated. Most Grass-type Pokémon had some affinity for sunlight and required exposure to synthesize nutrients, but some can use that energy and transfer it directly into their energy output for attacks. The result, as she'd researched, was a massive increase in power. It was just what they needed.

The Rockets gave their orders, and every conscious Pokémon they owned jumped for she, Ethan, and Silver at once. Lyra shouted as loud as she could. " _Solar Beam!"_

The well went white. Though the three were spared by being position posterior of Ray, she still felt her skin melting under the intense wave of heat when the column of pure, concentrated sun engulfed the Rockets and their Pokémon. The energy filled their vision and forced her to shield her eyes from the blinding light—and ears from the screams. Despite only lasting a moment, the massive attack's sheer power couldn't be understated, and when the light dissipated as the beam struck the far wall of the cave, their attackers lied prostrate on the ground.

Each of their Pokémon was covered in sizable burns. None moved. The Rockets themselves hadn't come out unscathed. One unfortunate gangster threw himself into the murky cave water to douse his flaming jacket. Of everyone in the cave, only the three young trainers were still standing tall.

She cast her eyes to Proton, who was lying flat on his rear, his own clothing smouldering, a burn decorating the right side of his face. His cap was missing, leaving just a frazzled head of hair. All three of his Pokémon were either unconscious or unable.

Silver made his move towards the man.

"Wait, wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait," he said quickly, "I surrender, okay?" The young man raised his hands to the air. "I don't want any trouble, just let me out of here and be on my way. I didn't really even want anything to do with this. Seriously."

"That's sure a quick turnaround," Lyra muttered.

She didn't like the creepy smile on Silver's mug as he approached. "You aren't so tough when you've lost, huh? The Rocket Syndicate is all the same."

"No, I'm serious. I'm just a college student. I, uhh… I needed the money, and I just ended up here, and, uhh—" Proton, genuinely afraid that Silver was going to hurt him, began backing up, slowly.

"You're just second-rate losers who enjoy feeling power over people. You enjoy the fake invincibility you think your group gives you," Silver continued, "and when someone finally beats you, you reveal how weak you truly are. I hate the weak."

"I don't know what happened between you and Ariana, but leave me out of it, okay? I am a  _computer geek_ , not a mob boss. She's the one you want."

"I'm not sure Ariana would appreciate you not taking responsibility, Proton," called a singsong female voice from behind.

The three of them turned at once at towards the new arrival. However, there was no one. The cave was empty, and when they turned back to Proton, he too was gone. Disappeared without a trace, carried off by something they hadn't seen. Silver stared darkly at the ground and balled his fists. He muttered something under his breath. He made his way past towards the entrance of the cave without a word.

Lyra finally collapsed, her legs giving out. They'd been shaking the entire time, but adrenaline had kept her propped up just long enough. Countless thoughts swelled through her head of just how stupid she was to have tried to challenge the Rockets, how close she'd come to getting ripped apart and beaten up, how fantastical it all was. That heart of hers was trying its hardest just to keep all her blood pumping.

Throwing yourself at criminals and trying to do the right thing wasn't nearly as easy as fictional stories made it seem. She was hardly able to think—and maybe she wasn't thinking the whole time—and spent five minutes just trying to collect herself. Nothing could have prepared her for the danger of the situation, the feeling of receiving a stare from someone who genuinely wanted to her. But she was okay. She was okay. She was still in one piece.

That didn't mean they succeeded. She cast her eyes sadly over the mound. The smell, she'd almost become acclimated to it. Hopefully the police could do more when they arrived.

Ray slowly hopped over to her and sat in her lap. Ethan sat down next to her. He seemed strangely fine and in better condition than herself, almost as if he had enjoyed putting himself on the line like that. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Ethan," she said.

"No problem. My shoulder's the most comfortable pillow around."

What an idiot, she thought. She was thanking him for saving her, twice, no, three times. But, yeah, having someone to lean on was nice too.

Her pack buzzed an important sound, and she checked her Poké GEAR for the expected message that the police had arrived. She showed it to Ethan. "We should head outside so we can tell them what happened."

"Yeah. Anything to get out of this dumb well, right?"

* * *

The Azalea Police wasted no time in apprehending every remaining Rocket at the site. She recounted the situation the best she could to the man in uniform who approached them. His shirt was a bright and offensive pink, two pockets decorating its front and a badge embroidered on the sleeve. She told him about the suspicious vans, about the giant mound and the poaching operation, which he immediately sent manpower down to find. She mentioned that their supposed leader disappeared before they arrived, even if most of the grunts were still around. The only thing she left out was the red-haired thief. Maybe it was because the theft was unrelated to what was clearly a bigger problem. Maybe she just forgot. She didn't know.

He asked a few pressing questions, but ultimately seemed to realize that Lyra wasn't in any condition to talk. If he had an issue with their collective display of vigilante justice, he didn't voice it. But the one thing she did want to talk about was what she feared the most.

"I can't really say for sure, since I'm no expert, but it doesn't look good," the man said sadly. He was in his early thirties, she thought, and already looked tired, like he'd seen a lot. "Until we can bring the Indigo Endangered Species Commission here, we won't know for sure, but one of our experts estimates that about ninety percent of the Slowpoke were killed. It's not realistic to expect them to recover."

She gave a curt thanks and walked off, not wanting anything more to do with it. The police could clean up the rest.

It was evening by the time everything was wrapped up and they began to head to Azalea. The two were silent towards each other, Ethan too preoccupied with his hatched Togepi more than anything. He played with it much like someone would a human baby, and though she had made fun of his stupid quips about his Pokémon being his children, it left her to wonder if taking a similar approach was effective. The egg-shaped creature seemed to enjoy it and shared as many chirps as its trainer's laughs. It stared at her, large, beady eyes filled with wonder underneath its three head bumps. She forced a smile for its sake.

"Where's Silver?" she asked her friend after a few minutes, once they had left the vicinity of the police's search.

"I have no idea. He left Slowpoke Well ahead of us, and I haven't seen him since."

She sighed. "Damn it. Of course, he left. I shouldn't have given him his Pokémon back. I bet he was planning this since we tied him up."

"I haven't left," said a voice.

She turned to her side, where she leveled a judging gaze at the boy leaning against a tree. The bloody hue of his hair and eyes drew her attention amongst the falling day. "So you haven't. What do you want?"

"I just want to, uhh, thank you for all of that. You  _helped_ me." He put an unnecessary stress on that word.

"You and I both know that's bullshit, Silver," Lyra said bluntly. "You want something from us, so spit it out."

He gritted his teeth. "I wanted to give you these," he said, revealing the three capsules she had only just given back to him. The last vestiges of the sunlight reflected harshly off their shiny red tops.

"Why?" she asked. He had no reason to give them anything, and he even said it himself. He didn't care about her or Ethan at all. Nor did he really care about his—the Professor's—Pokémon.

"I need you to take them to a Pokémon Center. I can't."

Right. He was still a wanted criminal, and even if they did heal his Pokémon, they needed his Trainer Card to allow him to use their services. He'd be cuffed and his team confiscated as fast as he could blink once the nurses realized who he was. But, what audacity did he have to ask for their help? She snatched the objects and stuffed them in her bag as fast as possible before she said anything else, not wanting to waste the chance to once again retrieve the missing starter.

She gazed up into the boy's face, wondering what she'd find. "You look like you're expecting them back."

"You didn't tell the cops about me. You did that for me, and I didn't ask, so I'm trying my luck."

She laughed. Loud. "Do you seriously think, for a second, that I would return them to you? After you sucker punched Ethan, abused a Pokémon that you stole, and was part of one of the most infamous criminal groups in the region? Who, as we've seen, have no problems with mutilating Pokémon to their heart's content?"

"I don't care what it takes," he said. It caught her off guard, because for a second time, she was seeing weakness underneath a facade of strength and malice. "You two are strong. Way stronger than I thought. I need that kind of power to accomplish my goals. I want you on my side, whatever that takes."

A seasonal wind blew through the forest, between she and Silver. As she looked at him, she found the same thing she'd found before. Someone without a proper way to express himself, someone damaged by past experiences, someone to pity because of his lack of integrity. He stood there, asking for another go, in front of someone he knew clashed with him on so many fundamental levels.

"You know who we are," Lyra told him. "I barely tolerate your attitude, I don't believe in using Pokémon as tools, and I believe in helping people first and foremost. Ethan's almost the same, but he cares even deeper for his Pokémon than maybe I do, and he has every reason to hate you. We aren't like you, and you want to put yourself in our hands?"

"Yes," he said. It was quick, it was decisive. He had already made up his mind. "If becoming strong has anything to do with it, then yes."

"Do you really mean that? Do you promise?"

"For fuck's sake,  _yes!"_  he shouted. "Is that so hard to understand?"

She turned her attention to Ethan, who had yet to say anything, but had this confused and pondering look about him. As did his Togepi. "Ethan?"

He put a finger to his chin. "Well, Lyra, if I'm being completely honest, I don't hate anybody," he explained. It was naïve, but as far as his perspective was concerned, it was true. "And everyone can get better, even if they aren't great right now, right? He proved he wasn't lying before when he led us to the well, so I'd bet he isn't now. If you believe in helping people, shouldn't you extend it to him?"

Ethan was right. If she didn't stick to her morals, she wasn't herself. She offered her hand to Silver and stared him in the eye. "Then it's settled. If you're willing to put in the effort, and I'll be the judge of that, then you could earn your Pokémon back. We aren't friends, but maybe we can help you."

The red-haired trainer shook her hand apprehensively, and for the first time, she looked at him as something other than an enemy.

"I won't forgive you," Lyra said, "but I believe in second chances. Don't waste it."

Silver placed his hands in the pockets of his oversized jacket. "I'm not known to waste an opportunity."

Ethan held his Togepi to the fading evening sky. The small being chirped in delight as a baby would when held and played with. "To christen this new partnership, I demand that we come up with matching team nicknames!"

" _Why_?" Lyra and Silver asked in unison.

"Well, because his name is so much cooler than ours!" Ethan exclaimed. "I'm just  _Ethan,_  and he's  _Silver._ Everyone's gonna think he's the important one. So, if he's Silver, then I'm Gold." Her friend laughed under his breath, and whispered, "not because I beat him, or anything."

The sheer fury on the tall boy's face told her that this was going to be a long journey. If she was already this tired, the days ahead would be an eternal damnation the likes of which theology had never theorize before.

Her friend pointed accusingly at her. "So, Lyra, if we're Gold and Silver, then you must be… Platinum! Wait, no, that's too northern." He mulled another moment. "Bronze? No, too fake." As if she could see a lightbulb over his head, he lit up. "That's it!  _Crystal._ "

"That doesn't even match," she told him.

"That's because you aren't thinking about it like I am," Ethan—fine,  _Gold_ —shot back.

"I'm not sure I've ever thought about anything like you have, and I'm better off for it," she muttered, before checking her Poké GEAR's map application. "Azalea is back this way."

"Lead the way,  _Crystal,_ " her friend shouted. Silver, on the other hand, said nothing, but diligently followed the two friends. She was counting on him to keep his promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **That's how mafia works.**
> 
> **...sorry. Couldn't resist.**
> 
> **It's the thrilling conclusion to this two-part storyline! I hope you enjoyed it, because I enjoyed writing it. It went a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I think that was for the best, because I could more naturally flesh out the character moments in this chapter. I don't think it's necessarily the best chapter I've written so far, but I'm satisfied with the result.**
> 
> **While I'm no longer on break, I've fortunately managed a good schedule that gives me at least an hour or two to work on this during weekdays, and that's enough to get the 1,000 words per day I target to keep this on schedule. Hopefully this chapter going a little over the two-week mark is an exception to my new situation.**
> 
> **I'm excited as all get-out for the finale of RWBY Volume 6 next week. It might be obvious, but some of Silver's dialogue in this chapter might be slightly familiar for anyone who has been keeping up with it.**
> 
> **Now, from a behind-the-scenes perspective, I'm a little under a third of the way done this story. And from a behinder-the-scenes perspective, I'm only 1/18th finished. God help me. As well, I'm a few chapters away from finishing the first great "story arc", though I use the term loosely, since it's less united by common plot and more so by tone and feel. In writing this chapter and the previous one, I had a sudden revelation that I wanted to add an original subplot involving Team Rocket in the second half, since their actual story presence in the Generation II games is somewhat lacking and lopsided. I've begun rewriting my outline a bit to fit that new addition, and I'm excited because of the extra space it gives me to flesh out the Rocket characters.**
> 
> **As always, any communication is appreciated, and I'll see you next time for Chapter 11: The Jungle Homecoming.**


	11. The Jungle Homecoming

The Goldenrod Showdown. Individually, it's the most well-recognized and televised youth battling event in the entire Johto Region. The sheer mass of trainers from multiple cities over and from the deep rural countryside as they converge on Goldenrod could not be understated. As far as tournaments go, while it couldn't hold a candle to the World Trial by sheer renown, it was the best opportunity for young local trainers in Johto to get their names out there and announce their presence to the world.

Kori was excited all her youth to be able to attend and test her mettle, and her championship title nearly two decades earlier is probably the reason she managed to be scouted by the Indigo League. And now, that many years past, she would be returning to Goldenrod not as a learner, but as a master. Plus, she could finally have an in-person introduction to her new colleagues among Johto's Gym system. The League's reputation of bloated and inefficient scheduling had unfortunately come through and put that off long enough.

She'd take a train to Ecruteak and then further to Goldenrod later that day. However, at present, she was speaking with Ciel over video chat. He decided to give her a call after stopping by a daycare center on Route 34. It was thoughtful—and a nice chance of pace, if you asked her—that her son was reaching out to her, instead of the other way around.

"It's a convenient coincidence you decided to leave when you did, honey," she said to him. "That you just happened to be getting to Goldenrod in June gives you a nice opportunity. You have two Gym Badges, right? You could participate if you wanted."

He hesitantly laughed and trailed off.  _"I guess so, but I'd have taken waiting a few weeks in Goldenrod over being stuck in Union Cave."_

"Well, what were you expecting, Ciel? You said you didn't have a map of the cave system with you, so it's your own fault. If you hadn't been picked up by a nice stranger, you might have died. Please be more careful next time."

" _Right, right,"_  he said.

Neither of them had anything further to say for a few moments. Some might have called the silence awkward, but she had a different perspective about communication. Sometimes, less meant more. All that was necessary was the presence of her family, letting her feel the comfort of togetherness. Kori was just as happy to be on the line with her son even if both of them were occupied. Just knowing she could speak to him was a blessing in itself.

Had he always looked so grown up? A two, two-and-a-half-month difference wouldn't have ever mattered before, but just seeing him, he was like an entirely different person. He was still her same little baby, but there was a maturity about him that she hadn't noticed before. It tore her heart on whether to feel proud or saddened.

"Are you excited to be back home?" Kori finally asked.

" _It's technically not my home anymore, though,"_  Ciel replied.

"You were only in Mahogany for, what, a day? Goldenrod is still your home just as it's mine. Maybe you could visit some of your old high school friends while we're there."

" _How are we staying?"_

"Since we've already sold the house there, I've just got rooms at a hotel near where the tournament is being held. I'm glad we reserved far in advance. Getting a family-sized room around the Showdown is a nightmare."

He looked puzzled.  _"Am I staying with you or will I be at the Pokémon Center? I hope you aren't spending extra on something high-end when I can get a room cheap."_

"Oh, don't be silly, Ciel. I already ordered for fo— three people, so drop by whenever." Kori caught herself quickly and held in a breath. Ciel didn't say anything, so she continued. "The League sets aside an employment stipend for things like this, since we're obligated to attend.

" _Okay, thanks mom. I should probably be going. I met back up with Brent and were planning to cross the last stretch of Route 34 today. We should be in Goldenrod tonight at the earliest._ "

So soon? That was alright. She'd be seeing him in person in a short while anyway. "Of course. You have fun, honey, and try not to get yourself into trouble. I know that's a tall order, but at least try."

Her son laughed lively. " _I'll give it a try, but no promises. I hear trouble is all that trainers get into._ "

"I love you, Ciel."

" _I love you too, Mom."_

As she ended the call and shut the lid on her laptop, she was returned to the gentle atmosphere of their new home. It was early on Sunday, and she'd barely been given time to wake up. Rising sunlight cast in stripes through the nearly closed blinds, an ambient dust visible through the room where the sun laid. The residence was smaller than their previous one and far less modern. Sliding doors, floor mats, simple futons, and other minimal furniture marked olden ways, with the appearance only broken up by the modern convenience of a heating system, which in Mahogany was a necessity. Relaxing, she thought it. The simplicity felt like a haven where nothing was expected of her. Being a Gym Leader was fulfilling work, but she quickly found it more mentally exhausting than any other career on the planet.

A Gym Leader was intended to win. Most people will never beat a single Gym Leader over their lifetime, and the modern folk hero of the trainer who conquered a region's Gym Challenge, took on the Elite Four, and became the Champion was a rarity of the highest order. Her son had talent and was making good progress, but he'd had four more years of training than most and decided early that he wanted to become a trainer, helped by her and her husband's supervision. She had Pryce, whom had offered to train her from a young age back when he still regularly visited Goldenrod for League business. Most others, however, wouldn't be so fortunate. Many would see the insurmountable odds against their first Gym Leader and how the system was meticulously tailored  _against_  trainers who began at a regular age and quit before they ever had the chance to begin.

However, at the same time, the revenue the Pokémon League obtained from trainers and their activities was so invaluable that it needed to ensure a constant supply of rising trainers to perpetuate the system, to encourage the public to try and fail. The only way Gym Leaders could do that was to hold themselves back. And at the same time that they placed a permanent cap on their personal advancement to act as a roadblock, they had to perform at a high enough level to watch the childhood dreams of hundreds, maybe thousands of trainers crumble before them.

Pryce had explained all of this to her once, and now she was experiencing it firsthand. She and her husband were villains at the same time that they were teachers. And at the end of the week, when she'd worked herself through this ass-backwards mindset through a hundred battles, she wanted to do nothing more than to sleep and be with her family.

"Hey, are you interested in some breakfast?"

She looked over to the door, which had been slid open to reveal her husband, Daku. He had a tired look about his square face and his graying blond hair, which she could reason was from the same source as she. "Only if you're offering."

"I can't  _un_ cook it, so I'm not really sure you have a choice." He revealed a plate of steaming food from behind his back, already prepared and doctored. Soup, salmon, and rice, while simple, were the perfect wake-up comfort food.

"Breakfast in bed, dear? You're precious," she teased.

Daku sat down next to her and handed her the plate. He placed his arm around her and she leaned into him, feeling that familiar comfort of presence rise back up. The food was a nice bonus as well, and she dug in, fighting back her urge to wolf it down with as much grace as she could muster.

"The trip's going to be exciting, isn't it? I don't think either of us have attended the Showdown in a while."

"You know," she began with a mouthful, before swallowing to continue, "only one of us is required to go. Are you sure you wouldn't rather take the week off with the Gym closed leading up to the tournament? I can still alter our reservation."

He took a moment to respond. "I'd just rather spend the week with family than alone, I think."

That was false. She knew very well that he had an ulterior motive. "You want to speak with Ciel, don't you?"

"Did you tell him I was coming?" he asked.

"I almost did, but no. I'm not sure why you think that'll change anything. He might be more receptive if he knew you'd be there instead of showing up and expecting an audience."

"It just seemed like a good opportunity."

"Any better than the previous thousand, Daku?"

He pulled away, obviously angry at the accusation, and stood up from the bed. She could tell he was about to storm away as happened every time they had this conversation. Ciel was always a rift point between the two of them, perhaps because he envied her positive relationship with him.

"You two had been living under the same roof for years. You had so many chances to try and sit him down and talk to him, but you avoided or botched every single one. What makes you think now will be any better?"

"I don't know, okay?" he snapped. "You're right. I'm running out of chances now that he's on his own and I realized that there may not be many left in the future."

"Then you need to take responsibility for yourself. You owe it to the both of you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Kori?" he asked.

"I know what this is and why you want to go. You're expecting me to help you solve this since you've not been able to do it yourself." Kori sighed and set the plate of food next to the bed. She looked at him with as much caring as she could. "It's been years, and I know you've changed. I know you had a rough patch and the League was more to blame for tossing you between places and docking your pay and whatnot. In a way, I understand why you got yourself to that place, and I had hope that you'd get yourself out."

She stood up and grabbed his hands in her own. Locking eyes, she stared into his green. His blonde hair was graying around the roots, showing the toll of age. "Daku, I know you've changed. You've been sober for half a decade, you went to counseling for almost that long, and you've been trying your hardest to make up for it. You've changed, but the only one who can't see that are you and him. You don't want to admit that you were ever in such a low position, and Ciel won't see you to have changed if you don't tell him straight."

"Kori, I—"

"Daku, did you ever actually sit down and apologize to him? I know you apologized to Laina when you hit her because you realized then how much damage you caused. She forgave you. But you damaged Ciel's perception of you and never gave him the same chance to do so. You've tried to be nice and to make up lost time, but you've never actually told him you were sorry."

" _Because it's hard!_ " he shouted. She backed away from him, and he stood tall, staring vacantly at the floor. "I just want to get rid of that and move forward. It hurts to look back."

"And it should," Kori told him, "but you can't ignore it. Your life isn't split into separate parts. Your past is what makes you  _you_ ," she told him, placing a finger on his chest where his heart laid. "If you choose to accept that you've changed, it says more about you than if you try to forget. But I can't help you. I can't try to explain to Ciel this because it won't have the same impact. I'm your wife, not your mother. It's not my responsibility, and you can't leave a problem like this to be solved by someone else. If you want to make things right, you must do it. I believe you can."

He was silent, and she put her finger down. They both stood there for a while, not even regarding each other. "Your food is getting cold," he said softly. There wasn't any malice or anger in his words.

Kori sat back down and picked the breakfast back up. "Thank you, Daku. I'm sorry."

He walked from the bedroom and slowly closed the sliding door behind him, leaving Kori to sit alone on the futon. She ate the rest of her breakfast without a word, remembering then that, sometimes, spending time with her family was harder than any job.

* * *

Ciel could tell summer was approaching. As he walked the seaside path of Route 34, the last vestiges of cool wind were nearly drowned out by the pleasant and growing warmth of the sun's rays. To his left, the sea stretched endlessly in view, and to his right, an overgrown grassy plain that transitioned abruptly into some inland woods. The only thing separating the two worlds was the was the two-lane road that would lead them right to Goldenrod.

"Car," announced Brent.

Their entourage veered to the right lane as a vehicle shot from behind. The road had been preferable to both sand and grass, especially since they were still far enough out that the volume of traffic was minimal.

"So, Ciel, how did your Azalea Gym Battle go? You told me you got the badge, but I don't think you ever explained how it went down."

Ciel shrugged. "There wasn't much to talk about. Three of my Pokémon have an overwhelming type advantage against Bug." He'd been reading about type matchups to commit them to memory. There were so  _many_ of them _._  "After Falkner, I was expecting it to be difficult, but Bugsy could barely do anything against me.

He cast his eyes to his Pokémon. Raven once again found herself carrying Arden on her head and at that point had come to begrudgingly accept her position as a mount. If he wanted to make a wild accusation, he'd say that the Absol was proud of the enjoyment she brought to the junior Pokémon. Arden flared in excitement whenever he realized they'd be traveling, and the new sights he could take in from the vantage point satisfied him. Not that Raven would admit the maternal instinct if he prodded.

Hector trailed slowly behind Raven and Arden, diligently keeping up with the remainder of the group. His heavy footfalls and stature gave him an unrivaled presence, even though he was smaller than other Rhyhorn. That trait he shared with the final member of his team, who at that moment was preening Ciel's eyebrows. The trainer had no need to excessively brush his hair before, but the absolute mess he was left with whenever Clovis took to nesting up there was humorous to say the least.

Clovis had also grown noticeably larger. He still wasn't  _big,_ but the size difference was enough to make Ciel worry about the crick in his neck.

Brent had his own Sentret riding his shoulder, but his other regrettable Pokémon was still in stasis. It wasn't the best idea to toss the freshwater creature out into the ocean, and it could only survive on land for so long with internal water reserves.

That left only one person unaccounted for. He'd thrown glances back at her most of the trip but had yet to say anything. He finally decided to ask.

"So, who's the new girl?" he said as he spied her ornate dress carried by gallant strides.

"Oh, that's Zuki. She's a friend of mine that I met a few days ago. She decided to travel with me for some reason, but she never really explained why."

Ciel leaned in and whispered, cupping his mouth. "So then why is she treading so far back? It's kind of creepy."

"I'm sure she's just trying to be polite. Comes off to me as a bit reserved, you know? I could introduce you, if you'd like."

"Sure?" He shrugged.

Brent suddenly slowed his pace and Ciel followed suit, until Zuki had caught up to them both. The girl seemed unphased by their sudden move and offered them a curt greeting. "Hello."

"Hey, Zuki, I'd like to properly introduce my friend here. This is Ciel. We'd been adventuring together for a little while, and since I'm the mutual friend, I thought you two should get to know each other."

Zuki leveled her gaze on him, sizing him up with a bit of intrigue. "Greetings to you, Ciel. You both have oddly foreign names." She bowed in a curtsy.

Were they too foreign, or was she too native? That was an interesting thought. He hesitantly waved in return while feeling the awkward atmosphere. Her being aloof and stiff didn't help—awkwardness talking to new people was something they had in common.

Ciel realized from some subtle cues, however, that Brent wasn't any more comfortable, but for different reasons. They'd met about a week ago and were obviously more familiar with each other, but a few half-laughs and arm rubs told him too much. It wasn't his job to play matchmaker, though, so he just giggled and let the urge to tease them pass.

The ocean road curved as they neared the city. The sun began its descent over the east, hanging still behind the deep forests as they traveled. Vehicles became more frequent, traffic to and from the city congesting further, and their group took to the sand in absence of any true sidewalk. Ciel felt a warming familiarity overtake him as the sprawl of buildings towered over them. It was an unforgettable skyline.

He stopped to take it all in, causing both Brent and Zuki, as well as his Pokémon, to pause inquisitively.

In a little over two months, he'd returned to where he'd spend most of his entire life. The Opulent City. The City that Overlooked the Sea. The City of Big Happenings. Whatever it was called, he knew it by a different name.

"Home," he said aloud.

Brent flashed a grin. "We're not going to find a place to settle before dark if you have to stop to reminisce. I never pinned you as the nostalgic type."

He resumed with a chuckle and their entourage proceeded, with excitement, to Goldenrod.

* * *

Of course, the first thing anyone would want to do after being away from home for so long is sleep. And boy, did Ciel sleep. He was sure he'd never again have trouble sleeping in, because camping out in a tent for months trained a person to take advantage of a cozy bed.

When he woke, it was sometime after noon, and it took most of his effort to get out from under the covers. He'd taken a room for the day before his family arrived, and just as his mother had implied, there weren't many rooms left available. The tournament coming up would pressure every type of lodging the city had.

As he showered and clothed and shaved, he noticed that none of his Pokémon were raring to go for the day. Raven and Arden laid curled up in a pile on the bed, while his newest team member seemed passively awake. He scratched Hector's head, to which the reptilian Pokémon responded favorably, but otherwise the behemoth didn't seem active. A cave-dweller like himself probably wasn't used to long hikes like the one they'd just had, so he'd need some time to acclimate.

Clovis was the only one with any energy, and as soon as an opportunity presented itself, the Pidgey launched from where he stood and took nest in Ciel's hair. Hair that he had  _just_ brushed, he might add. He mumbled to himself and walked outside into the main hall of the Pokémon Center, stretching his limbs and yawning.

It was only a few seconds before he was tackled to the ground. He barely even knew what hit him.

"Big brother, I missed you so much!" cheered the high-pitched, sing-song voice of his younger sister, who was squarely wrapped around his torso in a hug.

He pulled himself up and squeezed her tight in his own embrace. "You're getting too big to keep doing that, Laina. You're gonna hurt somebody." Clovis, who had been disturbed by his fall to the floor, flapped around and chirped in annoyance before once again finding rest in Ciel's hair.

She puffed her cheeks out in a pout. Her signature move. It was super-effective. "Fine, fine. You're just too much sometimes, you know that?" He slowly dropped the girl to the floor.

"Oh, I know. You just let me get away with it."

He scratched his sister on the head and ran his fingers through her hair. It was a deep red color. A recessive trait, but common throughout Kanto and Johto. It was from their mother's side.

And speaking of that devil, someone else had been standing by during their exchange. Ciel noticed his dark-haired mother, decked out in her robe and seemingly ready for battle. "Don't you still need to say hello to someone?"

"I was getting to that," he joked. He pulled his mother into another hug. She returned the gesture, and they held each other for a while. Being away even for two months made him a little homesick.

"It's so nice to see you guys again. What are we—"

She held up a finger. "Nuh-uh, me first. Here." She shoved a package at him, pulled from somewhere.

Ciel stared at the box. Polka-dot wrapping paper? A bow? "What is this? Wasn't my birthday months ago?"

"Just open it, you putz." His mother sighed.

With a shrug, he tore into the box, shredding the paper to pieces and revealing the true packaging underneath. Slapped in plain view on the front end was an image of a wrist-mounted digital device that opened to two screens. The title above read plain and clear: Pokémon Gadget, Explorer, and Receiver. A Poké GEAR.

"After you went into radio silence before getting to Cherrygrove, I'd been trying to track you down one of these so I could have easier contact with you. These newer models keep having stock issues. Between you and me, I think I got scalped by the guy I got it from."

"Wow, I… thank you so much, Mom!" he exclaimed, swiftly pulling the device out of the box and its cushioned packaging. Ciel attached the device to his wrist, pulling the strap tight. He flipped it open and powered it on. "This is so cool. It's even got a Pokédex function."

"I knew you'd enjoy it. It's a useful tool, as well as a leash I can use to prevent you from getting into trouble."

"When you put it like that, I'm not sure I want this thing," he said. She burst out laughing.

Laina chimed into their conversation, putting herself between the two to attract attention. "So what are we doing today?" she chirped.

" _We_ ," she emphasized, "are going to the tournament office so I can fill out some paperwork for Laina here to attend as a guest. You're participating, Ciel, so you'll just need to show up on Saturday and register on site. Once Laina and I are done with all that bureaucratic nonsense, we can move you into the hotel room and go out to eat."

"Should I stop by the Gym to scope it out?" he asked.

His mother shook her head. "Every Gym in the region is shut down this week to allow the Leaders enough time to get to Goldenrod for the tournament, even the one right here. The best you could probably do is find the Gym Leader and ask if you can arrange something in person."

"Do you know where I could find them? I remember you saying you hadn't met any of the other Gym Leaders yet."

"It's Monday, so she's probably at the University. Her name's Whitney, and she's a student there."

Wow, he thought, she must be super young. Ciel had assumed that most Gym Leaders were in their thirties at least and had either graduated from higher education or skipped it entirely. He didn't remember the Goldenrod Gym Leader being a young woman in TV promotions. Was she new?

"I guess I can go check it out," he said. "I never got to see the University when we lived here, so it'll probably be fun."

"You can take your friend and his friend with you." She pointed behind her towards a couch, where Brent and Zuki were chatting. He assumed they'd been waiting for a while since he woke up so late. "Make an afternoon out of it."

"That's a plan. I'll see you two soon, alright?"

"Okay! I can't wait to do fun stuff with you!" Laina exclaimed.

"We'll see you in a bit," said his mother. "And Ciel, fix your hair. You look like a mess."

As if his stuck-up bird gave him any choice in the matter. A prideful chirp told him that someone was proud of his handiwork.

* * *

"This is pretty dang cool, I'd say. I've never been to a city this big before," announced Brent as they walked up Main Street.

"With a home city like yours," Ciel said, "there's not much of a milestone to beat."

The name Goldenrod was apt, because the city was plated in gold. Not literally, of cours, but the gilded appearance borne of dandelion brick pavement, metallic yellow lining most of the buildings, and a few of the namesake trees and their titular color really sold the concept of an "opulent city". His hometown was lively and sparkling, which is one reason why never got tired of the view. It was no Ecruteak, though, so it was relatively cheap to live there.

Ciel, Brent, and Zuki passed under a towering skyscraper, its logo shining true, even under the midday sun. They were making their way out of downtown towards the east side and passing all the  _really_  ostentatious buildings. Surrounding them were jagged odd angles, weird abstract architectural fixtures, tall spires, towers, overhangs, glass walls, corporate logos,  _everything_. The amount of detail poured into the cityscape made him dizzy. Not to mention, in the afternoon of a Monday with the workday in full swing, people were swirling around him, everyone with somewhere to be and something to do. The three of them were swerving in and out, bumping into strangers left and right.

Strangely, the tallest building in the entire city was the Goldenrod Department Store, dwarfing even the city's landmark radio tower. He used to hang out there on weekend with some of his old school friends—it was the perfect place to muck about, window shop, and do nothing at all. But, as much as he wanted to stop by so many places he used to visit, they were on a mission, and as the buildings thinned out after they traveled a couple dozen blocks, he knew they were getting close to the University.

Zuki was most out of place of the three of them. Here he thought Brent was the backwater farm boy. She and the city were two distinct entities and they clashed horribly. A discomfort reflected in her face.

"Hey, are you doing alright, Zuki?" Ciel asked the kimono-clad girl, concerned that the sights were too much. As someone born in a city like this, he never had the perspective of someone who hadn't been surrounded by such a crowded and busy place for their entire life. It could be anxiety-inducing for all he knew.

She took a deep breath. The clapping of her wooden sandals was audible among the bustle. "I'm… splendid. There's no problem, I'm just a bit shaken."

Way to inspire confidence, Ciel thought. He motioned to Brent, who without hesitation paced by her side and took the girl's hand. The slight calming effect it had on the girl was cut short, however, as she whispered something under her breath.

"I think we're being followed. More specifically,  _I'm_  being followed."

"What?" asked Brent, urgently. "What do you mean?"

"Please don't be suspicious, but there are two suited men that I noticed were behind us a short while ago."

Sure enough, as he slowly turned his head, he could see behind them, among the crowd, two large figures with black sunglasses hiding their eyes. They looked like bouncers, or worse, gangsters, and he wanted nothing to do with that. It was their job to do something about this. Brent was a hero, and Ciel was a protector.

"Zuki, can you take your  _geta_  off? We need to run," Brent urged. The girl nodded and then slipped off the sandals, leaving her in socks on the pavement. "Ciel?"

He nodded. "I'll make some noise and hold them off. We'll meet up later at the University."

Without another word, Brent and Zuki broke out into a sprint, cutting through the crowd. The two suspicious men, seeing this, also shot into action. He only brought two Pokémon with him, that being Clovis and Hector, both of whom were in stasis. Ciel pressed the button on a Poké Ball and brought it to ready state. He held the capsule forward popped the mechanism, materializing the newest member of his team on the street. As the body expanded within the red beam, the crowd gasped and veered away.

He threw out his arm to command. "Hector, use Bulldoze!"

If he was tired before, the Pokémon didn't display it then. He reared up on his hind legs, and using his entire mass, slammed into the pavement. Ciel's feet almost gave way underneath himself as the miniature tremor the attack caused rippled the ground around them. Nearly everyone in the crowd around him, businessmen, tourists, and city-goers, lost their footing and fell to the ground in surprise with accompanying gasps and shouts. The two men didn't fare any better, and he watched as one of the suits fell hard on his hind quarters and the other slipped forward and met the concrete with his face.

Ciel barely managed to keep his own balance, and the civilians steering clear of his Pokémon left him a wide lane to scare the two suits something good. "Hector, charge!"

His Pokémon powered from a standstill and accelerated towards the two men. It was like watching a tank cross a battlefield, each stomp shaking the ground. They had both managed to collect themselves just soon enough to see the tiny behemoth barreling towards, forcing the two to split in opposite directions and dive out of the way into the fallen crowd.

Ciel held the capsule out and recalled Hector, before heel-turning to make his getaway. "Sorry, everyone!" he shouted to the fallen crowd. All he got were a few groans and expletives in response, but at least everyone would be okay.

The trainer knew the streets well enough to find an alternate path. He ducked through a few alleys he'd seen around this part and wracked his brain for where he supposed the campus was located. As he appeared out in the open on another street, he looked up at the long apparatus casting a shadow on the road below. The magnet train rail. It ran right through the university to cross the Johto Region.

He followed the track for about twenty minutes at a fast jog until he crossed into an out-of-place green field. Suddenly, he'd crossed into an area of century-old construction, where each building had dignity. A long white building with a central, windowed clocktower stood across from him down the campus's main road. After a few quick glances behind him to make sure to the suits hadn't managed to find him, he sat down on a nearby bench, panting, heart pounding, muscles on fire. He wasn't sure he needed the thrill like that so often.

"Ciel!" called a voice. His two friends made their way over. They were both out-of-breath as well, and Zuki was still running around in only her socks. "What happened?" asked Brent

Ciel held out a thumbs-up and grinned. "We lost them," he said through gasped breaths. "They probably won't know we were coming here, so we're in the clear."

The two friends bumped fists and sighed in satisfaction. They had done their jobs.

"I'm not sure how I can express my gratitude," Zuki said as she slipped her sandals back under her feet. "You both have done me an excellent service."

He and Brent waved her off in unison. "It's no trouble, so don't worry about it," Brent reassured. "I would like to know why you were being followed, though."

"They are my retainers," she said. Her articulation was as pristine as ever, despite the labored breathing. "They've been looking for me to return me to Ecruteak."

Ciel raised an eyebrow. "You ran away from Ecruteak?"

The girl didn't answer, which simultaneously answered the question. She didn't seem at first glance to have any Pokémon, and in dress like that, he couldn't help but wonder how she made it so far south.

"Well, whatever reason you're here, you can be sure you're safe with us. We're both heroes, you see, so we'll keep you out of trouble." Brent said that with the goofiest smile he could muster. Light seemed to reflect off his face.

The three of them took some time for a break. They bought a few snacks at the Poké Mart before they left since they hadn't planned to stop to eat. A few candies, water bottles, and even some sushi passed between the three of them. It wasn't high-class, but they all could use the recharge. Every item Zuki held in her hands elicited an apprehensive look, as if she'd never seen a snack before—the commercial packaging looked downright offensive when compared to her clothing. Still, she thanked them for the food and didn't complain, obviously just as worn out from the chase as either of the two boys were.

Ciel cast his eyes up to the clocktower, where it was about to strike four against the slightly cloudy sky. A loud bell chimed, and within minutes, the outflux of students from their last classes for the day filled the courtyard where they sat.

"I guess I'll go ask around," offered Ciel as he stood from his seat. "You guys can stay here if you want."

He once again enclosed himself in a crowd. A few people stopped when he beckoned, and he asked where he could find the Gym Leader. Other students ignored his question entirely, which was quite rude, and another set of standoffish preps scoffed at the idea that he was speaking to them. It made him flush red, but he tried to ignore the jeers.

"Whitney who?" "Oh, you mean the Gym Leader?" "I've seen her before, but never met her." Every kind of non-answer he could imagine was given, though with a student body as large as Goldenrod, he realized it was a longshot to locate any one person who knew a specific other person. The closest anyone came to solid information was that they had met the Gym Leader before and had seen her around the University's "humanities" building.

Without much else to go by, he made his way in the direction that person pointed. As he turned the corner, he smacked into someone.  _Hard_

"Ow!" he shouted, laid out on the floor for the second time that day.

"Hey, watch where you're going, guy!" chastised a girl. "Gah, I think my nose is bleeding." She had striking white hair and green eyes. The latter weren't out of place, but the former was only found in the region north of Kanto. She looked a little younger than he did and was substantially shorter. She wore a white tank and cargo pants.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to hit you," he said as he pulled himself up. "Would you happen to know where Whitney is? The Gym Leader?"

"You just smashed me in the face and  _that's_ what you ask? You must be some hotshot Pokémon Trainer."

"Well, yeah, I'm trying to complete the Johto Gym Challenge and I heard I could find her here. And sorry, again."

She waved it off, pulling some napkins from a pocket in her cargo pants to wipe her nose. "It's whatever. Actually, I have a class with her, which we both got out of a little while ago. It should be her last class of the day, so she'd be heading home, I think."

He sighed and dipped his head. Damn. They'd. already missed her. After having to run from those suits, they'd have to go back empty handed, and that was a major disappointment.

"So, you're doing the Gym Challenge. You want to become famous or something?" the girl asked, curiously. She had a sly look about her as she inspected him.

"I mean, I guess?" Ciel said. "I'm just trying to become a great Pokémon Trainer, and being famous would be pretty cool." He left out the rationalization of him wanting to protect people he cared about. He understood Brent's struggle. It must sound kind of dumb.

She cocked her head up at him. "It's really difficult to get big as a trainer, isn't it? You'll just fade into obscurity if you don't give it your all. Then you won't make money and it'll be even harder for you to train."

That sounded like a challenge. If he wanted to get strong to be able to protect people, he could easily reach for the top. The World Trial, even. He crossed his arms and held the best confident posture he could manage. "You'll see. In a few years' time, you'll be hearing the name Ciel Fauder on international TV!" he boasted.

The green-eyed, white-haired girl snorted. "I'll hold you to that, hotshot," she said, before walking away. "Have fun getting your butt kicked!"

Deciding that he found as much as he could, he walked back across the university grounds towards the main clocktower. Along the way, he passed a giant marble statue of a Jigglypuff, standing tall to honor the school's mascot Pokémon. He personally thought having "The Puffs" represent a school was a stupid idea.

As he approached their bench rendezvous, he noticed three people, rather than just two. The third had a head of ostentatious pink that forced him to blink twice to make sure he was seeing a real color. The girl's white shirt had a matching trim, which combined with her hair and long striped socks made her a magnet for attention. He picked up the pace until he was within earshot.

"You must be one of the Kimono Girls! I'm a  _huge_ fan, it's so nice to meet you!" the girl pressed. Her attention was completely focused on Zuki and it was clear that her personality wasn't a good match. Her presence completely overpowered the other through extroversion.

"Hey, she's already a bit shaken, so can you step back a bit?" asked Brent.

"What do you mean? I'm not being overbearing, it's all fine. You're Zuki, right? Zuki wears the black kanzashi. Naoko wears red. And Kuni wears blue. And—"

"And the person who needs to speak to you is here," Brent announced. The girl spun on her heel like a ballerina, eyes landing on Ciel as he approached. "We, uhh, we found Whitney," Brent said to him.

"Yup! That's me! Gym Leader of Goldenrod and Normal-type extraordinaire! Put 'ere there, what's your face," she cheered, and extended a hand for him to shake. Her weirdness made him hesitate, but he shook it all the same. "You need something from me?" she asked.

"I'd like to know if I could, I don't know, arrange a Gym Battle?" Ciel asked. "My mother implied that might be possible."

"No can do, guy," Whitney told him. "If I've got a week off like this, there's no way I'm going to deal with any kind of  _work_  work in the meantime. What kind of girl would pass up a vacation?"

"Oh." He felt somewhat rude for asking.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Nah, don't feel too bad. If you're going to watch the tournament, I'll be there with the other Gym Leaders, and then we're right back operational starting next week."

"Actually," he corrected, "I'm going to be participating."

Her eyes went wide. "Oooooooooooh. It's gonna be super fun, I guarantee you! If you're participating in the Showdown, you should take this week to train your ass off. I'll see you at the tournament, Mr., uhh…"

"Ciel."

"Yeah! See you at the tournament, Mr. Ciel," the Gym Leader exclaimed, before skipping off towards the end of campus. He couldn't help but think she reminded him of Ethan. Or maybe even his sister.

Ciel turned towards his two friends and shrugged. "The afternoon was kind of a wash, but at least we had fun?" Zuki shot him a glare. Guess not.

Brent spoke up next. "We should head back. It's like she said. If the tournament's coming up, we're going to need to train and train and train to stand a chance, even if we've only got a few days left.

"Wait," he realized, "you keep saying 'we.' You're participating too?"

"Of course! I've also got two badges, and I'm not going to miss a big opportunity like this, being pitted against some of the best rising trainers in the region. It's like the best experience a trainer could get."

The three of them left the campus to return to the Pokémon Center. Fortunately, no more trouble came their way on the return trip, perhaps because they took a long route to avoid Main Street. Ciel and Brent agreed that, the moment they got back to the Center, they'd get started. Both would be ready for anything when Saturday rolled around, and together they'd face the showdown of a lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **That's right, the next bunch of chapters are going to cover a tournament arc. Couldn't be shōnen-esque media if it didn't have a tournament arc, right? This is what I alluded to in a few previous chapters when I said an event would be coming up to introduce a lot of new (or canon) characters and expand the story's scope. It just won't overstay its welcome, I promise. It's no Chūnin Exams, first of all.**
> 
> **Meanwhile, this was admittedly somewhat of a transitory chapter where a lot of character plots over the next however long are being set up. As I've alluded to before, I'm a believer in "strategic filler", and this chapter was a cool-down from the Slowpoke Well stuff and a shift into to more character-centric storytelling. I pray no one is angry at me for skipping the Bugsy battle and Ilex Forest, since I didn't feel that either were necessary. Some gyms will receive a lot of attention (like Violet) and some will get very little.**
> 
> **My work for the semester is starting to ramp up, so I'll try to keep a two-week update schedule or as close as possible, but I can't guarantee anything. Thanks for being patient if you've been following for a bit.**
> 
> **Next time is Chapter 12: Welcome to a Bigger World! See you soon!**


	12. Welcome to a Bigger World

Quick scribbling in his notebook between exercises was all the rest he had time for. The minute he finished, they were back at it again. This time, he'd to try something new.

"Arden, follow closely. Ignite as hard as you can, and then use Defense Curl!"

Contrary to his own prior perception, the moves used by various Pokémon weren't universal in the way they were executed. Thunderbolt, for example, was the colloquial term for any high-power, focused bolt of electricity used by a Pokémon. Thundershock, on the other hand, was a less focused attack using a short jolt. Each Pokémon used moves differently based on their biology and current control over their body's energy-conductive systems and organs.

With that in mind, he was attempting to replicate a move he read about in a book from the Azalea Library with some ingenuity of his own. Arden's flame sacs fired at full capacity, spreading heat and flame licks everywhere, before the small mammal curled in on himself with the ignition maintained. Now for the finishing touch.

"Flame Wheel!" ordered Ciel.

Kicking off with his back legs, Arden streaked across the grounds as a flaming boulder. Brent's Sentret stood in the attack's path and bounded high, letting Arden roll directly underneath him. Without its original target to stop its motion, Ciel's Pokémon slammed into the opposite wall and sprayed flames in every direction as his ignition dissipated.

Ciel and his friend both winced. "Ouch…" The Fire-type had collided with the wall headfirst. After rushing over to console Arden and giving him a pass to stop for the day, he scribbled down in his notebook.  _Need to think of a better way to stop._

In the evening, Ciel enjoyed time spent with his mother and sister in their high-end, rented suite, and realized just how frugal the Pokémon Center rooms were. How he'd give up memory foam pillows after that was beyond him. He and Laina shared one room with two beds, while their mother took a connecting room. He swore that he could hear another voice whispering through the walls, but he drowned that thought out. It wasn't worth thinking about.

In the evening, much of his time was spent regaling his sister about his adventures through southern Johto. Her eyes sparkled with wonder and it brought him a lot of joy to tell his stories, knowing that she admired him as a role model.

After they had eaten out for dinner that first night, their mother brought back enough groceries to get them through the duration of their stay. Even if they were only there for a week, having food in the suite almost made it feel like home. That night, he and Laina shared a more casual evening, munching on simple sandwiches while they wasted away in front of the TV together. Again, he was reminded of his days back home. But then, he realized, they  _were_ home.

The second day, he prioritized Raven, whom Ciel realized had been getting the least action of his entire team since their first battle with Falkner. Reasonably so, since she surpassed his remaining Pokémon due to training before his journey began, but she had just as much room to improve as Arden, Clovis, or Hector.

He circled around his partner to examine her. Raven's primary attack, or at least the one he defaulted to, was Slash, a simple but powerful swipe of her natural sickle weapon. However, there had to be some way of harnessing her Dark-type to make it more powerful.

From what he gathered in reading, a Pokémon's primary source of attack power was internal energy reserves and pathways. Biologically speaking, that was the primary trait that separated Pokémon and humans, aside from all Pokémon laying eggs rather than having live births. By diverting this energy from other systems, they could use it to perform battle moves at the expense of tiring faster than they would normally. Special attacks were created when this energy was expelled from the body in various forms, while physical attacks augmented muscles with this energy to increase their power, and the various forms of that energy—in addition to shared physical traits and battle performance—determined a Pokémon or a move's type classification.

The two of them had been trying, and struggling, to unlock that energy throughout their time in Goldenrod. Despite a lack of previous success, Ciel urged her on. "Raven, I need you to focus. Focus as hard as you can. Direct your power to your sickle."

His partner shot him a glare, but ultimately conceded to try. She contracted her muscles heavily, not intimately aware of how to harness her internal reserves yet. Nothing had happened, just like the last few times they tried this exercise.

"Keep focused. Imagine all your power isolated in one spot, and that there's a big Pokémon right in front of you. A giant, mean Pokémon, a challenger, that wants to knock you to kingdom come. Remember that Arbok when we first met. Keep trying." Ciel continued his circling while looking for any visual change to write down.

She bared her teeth at the invisible enemy, growling, claws digging into the ground, but nothing yet had happened. Her natural weapon was as plain as ever.

He kneeled in front of her, and the two partners locked eyes. Raven cast an annoyed glance, though whether at him or the lack of progress he didn't know. Time for him to be cheesy. "Raven, I know you can do this. You want to become as powerful as you can, and I know you can. You've been with me the longest, and I believe more than anyone that you are capable."

A spark. A tiny spark of a glowing black flashed across her sickle. She realized too late that it had happened, and as she tried to use its power again, she couldn't. Despite a low, frustrated hiss escaping her throat, she proved it was possible, and that's all that mattered. Ciel told her to relax and scratched the top of her head.

He scribbled down something.  _Raven hasn't made the most of her typing yet, but we made some progress today. I'm real proud of her. I don't know how long it'll be until we get the hang of it, though._

The days passed, and his entire team was growing stronger by the second. Clovis and Arden had physically grown larger and larger, which he was told was a tell-tale sign that they were nearing evolution. Now  _that_ seemed like an exciting time, and he couldn't wait.

Brent trained alongside him, and during the week, they must have sparred at least twenty times. The older trainer's Sentret was more agile and dangerous that he could ever have assumed, giving even Raven a worthy challenge against a similar battle style. As he watched the two brawl, he couldn't help comparing it to a choreographed dance where each party swerved, twirled, flipped, dodged, weaved expertly among each other's attacks. It was unfortunate that their teams never had a proper battle and only did training exercises in that period, and he promised himself that he'd give Brent a real challenge once the tournament was said and done. Unless, of course, the tournament itself gave them that opportunity.

As their training concluded that Friday night, he sat in silence with Brent against a wall inside the Pokémon Center. They'd been using some rentable training rooms for most of their practice, giving them a quiet, open space to do exercises. He finished the last of his notes for the day and stashed the book away.

"You think you're ready for this, Ciel?" his friend asked.

That was a difficult question to answer. He wasn't a professional, but he certainly wasn't a novice either. It had been two and a half months of travel and training since he left Mahogany and began his journey from New Bark. He had no way of truly knowing what was enough, but his heart provided an answer for him. "Yeah I think I'm ready."

"This'll be the first truly big event for either of us as trainers. The first step to accomplishing a dream." The excitement in his voice was palpable as he played with one of his exhausted partner's floppy ears.

"No." Ciel had a different thought. "We took the first step a while ago. We're already well on the way there."

With that, they parted ways, and soon after Ciel returned to his family's hotel room, he slept the night away. He thought he'd be restless like he was before his first gym battle, but this time, he was ready to face whatever was ahead.

* * *

"Come on, big brother, we're going to be late!"

Ciel found himself in full sprint, weaving through the early morning bustle of Goldenrod to make up lost time. They needed to make their way to the Coalition War Memorial Stadium and  _fast._ For some reason he could only undersleep or oversleep for big events, and in his opinion, one of the two was a worse option. His sister followed closely behind him.

They booked it as hard as possible across twelve city blocks, even ignoring crosswalks and traffic cycles and braving the congested streets. That early on a Saturday meant no one was there for work, which meant that everyone was there for…

The Fauder siblings stood in awe of the stadium. In the various lots before them, vehicles circled like Mandibuzz looking for prey. Hundreds of thousands of pedestrians were all walking in a single direction, towards the gargantuan, gold-paneled structure. Industrial-grade lighting fixtures rose from above the circular building's rim, ready to light up the event come the evening.

Ciel checked his new Poké GEAR. "8:52," he said. "We've got eight minutes to get inside."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked his younger sister, who shoved his back and got him moving forward at full speed again. "Mom's probably already inside!"

After fumbling through the parking lot, getting shouted at by people they bumped and pushed around and honked at by vehicles they cut in front of, the siblings arrived at the front gate and the veritable mass of people trying to get inside. Above the entrance, two signs hung down, reading "participants" and "spectators."

Ciel grabbed his sister's wrist and pulled her along with him towards the participants' side. Regardless of the distinction, he couldn't leave her to sit by her lonesome while he participated. A line hundreds long begged to enter the participants side, and he was lucky that he found himself at the front only a minute before the scheduled closing. A tournament official scanned his trainer card and whisked him inside, and after he explained the situation with his mother present as a Gym Leader, Laina was free to enter as well.

However, he and his sister separated soon after. As he was led along the interior tunnels of the stadium, another official pointed out an entrance towards the guest seating, and he sent his sister along with them to find his mother, who was undoubtedly getting situated. She'd left the hotel a while before them. Ciel told his sister he loved her and the two waved goodbyes, leaving him alone.

The mass of trainers, all ready to participate in the tournament, was funneled through the underground passages that circled and looped around the underneath of the stadium. After a few twists and turns, he and the other thousand-some contestants around him were brought to a brightly lit exit. Ciel stepped outside into a bigger world.

Possibly the entire trainer population of Goldenrod, the surrounding cities, the Johto region, and beyond stood clustered on the open green of the stadium. Rays of the rising sun peeked over one edge of the structure's high walls, leaving a sizable portion of the lower area still cast in shadow. It seemed as if everyone was waiting for an announcement.

High in the stadium, standing upon a podium extending from the seats, was a fierce looking old woman. "Hello," she began curtly, "I'm Arin Ryokuna, the tournament director. Let's get down to our first order of business." Her voice boomed across the arena, and she continued without missing a beat. "According to my headcount, there are over twelve-hundred people here. Anyone without two or more Gym Badges,  _get out_."

The crowd looked around and murmured. O one moved. He thought that was a listed requirement to enter, not some hidden prerequisite. And moreover, she said it without any level of remorse or condolences, like a drill instructor laying into recruits at attention.

"You heard me! Get going and stop wasting our time! And, yes, Trial Stamps are fine for the Alolans among you."

Slowly, the crowd thinned out. He estimated that half the crowd disappeared, each sulking participant returning through the entranceway from which they made their way out. That many people didn't have two Gym Badges? He found it nearly unbelievable, especially since most looked older than he was.

"Next on the chopping block," the old woman sang. She sat comfortably on her pedestal, head in her chin, as if she enjoyed watching people turn away in shame. "Those of you with two or fewer Pokémon in their possession can also extricate yourselves."

He sighed in relief, glad that he fit another condition. More confused murmuring sparked an annoyance in the woman. "It means leave, you idiots! Turn around and don't come back, because the crowd isn't going to enjoy you embarrassing yourselves." Soon after, another half of the crowd disappeared, thinning the people among the stadium considerably. A dread rose in the back of his mind when he realized that Brent didn't fit that condition. He only had a Sentret and a Magikarp, but Ciel couldn't spot him anywhere amongst the standing or retreating trainers.

"Lastly, and my personal favorite, anyone who has never caught a wild Pokémon before, you are free to go. We can check your PC records during the tournament, so don't think that your pure-bred darlings from mommy and daddy will excuse your lack of experience in the wilderness."

Once again, another half cleared out. He could see unifying factors among most of those trainers—nice suits, fancy dresses, expensive-looking watches, the works. Was there really an entire trainer subset of spoiled rich kids? The remaining crowd was probably only one-tenth of the initial size.

The woman paced back and forth on the pedestal, checking a clipboard. "If my estimates are correct, that should leave about seven rounds of you, give or take. And don't you worry," she said, before leveling at the crowd, "their families can get refunds. Probably. The remainder of you, head back into the lower waiting levels. You have an hour to get situated and someone will come around to assign you participant numbers. Get to it."

She began to descend from her place on high, before stopping in her tracks, as if remembering something she had almost forgotten. She turned back to the crowd. "Oh, and, welcome to the Goldenrod Showdown. Have fun."

As he and the remaining crowd returned to the waiting holds, soon enough, tournament aids rushed amongst the crowds and passed out identification tags. The one Ciel received was pushed upon him unceremoniously. They were strung up as necklaces, so he slipped it over his head. He adjusted the card so it sat visible across his chest. His number was 123. "Huh. Like my birthday," he noted, absentmindedly.

All around him, trainers released their Pokémon from containment and the waiting hold became alive with hundreds of partners in battle. Creatures both familiar and completely foreign filled the area. A Doduo began making tracks around the floor, while a Hoppip, or maybe it was Skiploom, he couldn't remember, floated joyfully into the sky. One of the weirdest that he had never seen was what looked like a pair of car keys floating in the air. He had to blink to ensure he wasn't seeing things.

"Harumph! The nerve of that woman," projected someone nearby with a fancy accent. It was a young woman in an expensive fur coat and sunglasses that hid her face. Her active Pokémon looked as puffy as its trainer, but he couldn't identify the blue, avian creature wrapped in… cotton? "Luckily, you were a wild catch, little cutie. My perfect darling."

Ciel was about to release his own team to confer, but two people approached him, and as he turned to greet them, his face lit up. "Hey, you guys!"

Ethan and Lyra stood before him, each sporting their own respective tournament numbers, 91 and 117. Ethan had tied his red jacket around his waist—probably to stave off the summer heat—revealing a simple black shirt underneath. His companion had replaced the bulbous hat she previously wore with a comically oversized sun hat.

"How've you been, Ciel?" asked Gold. He was beaming, as was the tan-colored creature in his arms.

"I'm doing alright, but that little guy looks like he's drunk on life," Ciel said, waving his finger in front of the creature. It followed the extremity and attempted to grab it much like a human baby. "Your egg finally hatched?"

He smiled wide. "Yep! Her name's Crown, because of her crown. Isn't she a cutie? Yes she is, yes she it." He devolved into baby-speak at the end.

"It's nice to see you again," said Lyra, taking over after her friend began playing with the baby Pokémon. "I see you have a Poké GEAR now. You should give me your phone number so we can keep in touch."

"Huh?" he looked at his wrist, almost forgetting the new device. It would take some time to get used to having the convenience. "Sure, let me pull it up." The two trainers exchanged numbers, giving Ciel his first contact besides his mother. "So, how was your time in Azalea Town? I actually got lost before I arrived, so you guys should have caught up to me, but I never saw you around."

Lyra's head seemed to droop. "Oh, that's…" she trailed off.

"Did something happen?"

They explained. While he was training in preparation to take on the Azalea Gym, both local and national news had been focusing on one story: The Well Incident. The criminal organization called Rocket, which he thought was defunct, conducted a massive poaching operation of Slowpoke in Azalea's historic Slowpoke Well. And these two got themselves involved?

"Wait, you mean you  _fought_ the Rockets?" he asked, incredulously. "That's dangerous as hell."

"I was impulsive and went to explore what was happening and it landed us in a lot of trouble," said the girl. "If we hadn't gotten lucky with that egg hatching, who knows what would have happened."

One thought came to his mind first. "Are you two alright? Are you hurt?"

"We're fine, mostly. My Marill has a nasty scar in his side, though." She stared into the floor with a gloomy expression.

"I should have been there," Ciel said. He felt himself grow angry, not at someone else but at himself. While he was lounging away and going about his business, two of his friends had risked themselves to try to save Pokémon. If his goal was to protect people, he let himself down by not being part of that and making sure they weren't hurt.

"Nah, we were all fine and dandy," said Ethan, who tried to deflect his concern. "We had some help. Remember that thief that stole the Professor's Pokémon?"

Ciel snapped back to reality. "He helped you? Didn't really seem like the type to offer himself up."

"He has some bone to pick with the Rckets, and Lyra blackmailed him. That did the trick, and now he follows us around." Ethan said that nonchalantly without any shame.

Lyra, looking offended, punched him in the arm. "Don't say it like that! You make me sound like a villain, Gold."

He raised an eyebrow. Gold?

Lyra must have noticed the confused expression on his face. "Oh, right. Ethan over here insisted that we have nicknames because Silver is traveling with us. He's Gold, and I'm Crystal. It's kind of stupid, though after using it a while I'll concede that it does sound cool."

Ciel rolled the two names off his tongue a few times. Gold and Crystal. It'd take some getting used to, but he agreed. They did sound cool.

Suddenly, the waiting area of the stadium came alive with flames. A wave of heat rushed past them, forcing the three trainers to turn towards its source. Ciel's eyes tracked upwards as he took in the body of an adult, fully evolved Pokémon. Powerful, triple-clawed legs connected to a sleek but bulky orange body. A muscular tail whipped around, and on its tip, a healthy flame burned bright. Wings made of blue membrane sprouted from its back, and its neck lead into an angled snout. The entire creature was reptilian in nature, covered in fine scales that looked both smooth as well as strong.

The Charizard let out an earth-shaking roar before once again firing a Flamethrower directly into the air. As the billowing flames hit the ceiling, they rushed outward, sprinkling the other trainers in licks of flame. Ciel pulled Gold and Crystal out of the way of the flames as various other trainers shouted in fear and protest at the display.

"That's enough, Zara! Don't torch the whole place, you goof, or else we won't have anywhere to battle."

Standing beside the awe-inspiring creature and dwarfed by its size was an energetic, blonde-haired girl. She held a chastising finger at the draconic Pokémon. Ciel watched in both confusion and amazement as it bowed its head to the short leader. She turned towards some of the other people in the waiting area. "Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to scare you! My partner is just exercising her throat muscles."

Ciel didn't consider that a consolation for almost being torched. He turned back to his friends, only to notice that Ethan's eyes were wide and sparkling, copied by the Togepi in his arms. He gasped a long breath before breaking off into a sprint over to the girl and her dragon. Immediately, he and Lyra—err, Crystal—were chasing after him.

He was all over her the minute he crossed into her area. Eth—Gold frantically circled around the Charizard, haphazardly poking it out of curiosity while rambling questions and observations under his breath. "How much does she weigh? How'd she get so muscular? You're her trainer, right? That is the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life!" The towering reptilian Pokémon was growing annoyed and Ciel was afraid that she would torch Gold to a crisp if his pestering continued.

"Hey, hey, back off, will you? Personal space, you know?" the girl asked, mirroring her Pokémon's irritation. Upon closer inspection, her hair was a sandy color, having a nigh-imperceptible reddish tint.

Lyra walked up and grabbed Ethan by the collar, dragging him away from the Pokémon. "Get over here, you idiot."

The newcomer sighed and then waved it off. "No, I think I get it. My partner's a real beacon for attention sometimes, and I had the same reaction the first time I saw a fully evolved Pokémon like this. Nice to meet you guys! My name's Christine, but you can call me Kris."

"I'm Ciel Fauder," he offered, waving.

"I'm Lyra, but I guess I'm Crystal now," his friend said. The other boy's head was drooping as he remained leashed by the collar. "This idiot here is Ethan-slash-Gold. Nice to meet you."

The girl had a sudden change in demeanor. Though she seemed calm before, it was replaced by a burning passion. She ran her hands backwards through her hair and let it fly free and messy in every direction. Without warning, the girl leaped high into the air, more that he would have thought possible, her arms extended diagonally with her fists closed. Her partner roared in complement.

"I'm really fired up right now! I don't know about you guys, but I'm super ready for this tournament!" she shouted as she landed from her jump. "It's getting my blood pumping just thinking about who I can test my skills against."

Ethan was the first to join her and looked up from his misery, pumping one fist in front of himself with his other arm holding Crown like a Unovan football. "Yeah! Right there with you, person who's name I already forgot!"

"Ahem," Crystal sounded, bringing everyone to attention. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Christine, but we should probably get back to get our teams ready. See you in the tournament." She dragged Gold away someplace where they could get prepared.

For most of the conversation, Ciel found himself unknowingly staring at the girl. Something about her struck a tinge of familiarity in him. Had he seen her someplace before? He'd seen Bunches of famous trainers on television or in magazines, but she didn't quite fit anyone he'd seen. A shout from Crystal snapped him out of it, and he concluded that it was probably nothing. Probably.

A shadow cast over him slowly and he turned around to face a gargantuan figure of a man. Ciel wasn't short, far from it, but even at his height, he was forced to bend backwards to meet his face. A flowing mane of hair surrounding his head transitioned into a beard and had a similar blonde-red combination, but leaning more towards the red. If he had to guess…

"Big brother!" Kris called.

"Is this guy bothering you?" he asked in a gruff, but still youthful, voice.

"What? No!" she denied. "He was just interested in my Pokémon, is all. No need to be overprotective, Saber. I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

Ciel returned his attention to the man, only to receive a death glare in return. A bead of sweat ran down his cheek. He seemed to lean over even further, and he could feel the oppression of the large man's figure in his bones.

Then, unexpectedly, he leaned down  _even further._ He bent at the waist into a complete bow. "Then I apologize profusely for the accusation, trainer! I am Sebastian Masuta, but you may call me Saber!" He put his arm forward to offer a handshake while his torso was still parallel to the floor.

Hesitantly, Ciel took the hand and shook it. It was  _firm_ , nearly crushing his own, smaller hand within, but there was a friendliness about it. The man, Saber, shot up to full height and walked over to his sibling, then ignoring him completely. He supposed that was as good a time as any to excuse himself to a team meeting with his Pokémon.

Something sprung to his mind. Masuta? That name sounded familiar

* * *

Silver nestled himself as far away from everyone else as he could in the stands of the stadium. A comfy, partially blocked corner seat called to him in the highest part of the stadium, though why the architects would ever place a chair where the view is obstructed by a wall was beyond him. He wouldn't complain if it meant he could stay away from everyone. He tucked himself into the oversized hoodie for extra measure.

As far as the police were concerned, he was still a wanted criminal, but because she reported to that Professor that she found his starter, no one was actively looking for him anymore. He hated that now he was indebted to her. But at the same time, he preferred not being in a jail cell to the alternative.

How the hell had he convinced himself any of this was a good idea? In that moment, outside the well, he persuaded himself somehow that their battle skill was worth putting up with them, and the girl's "kindness" was easy enough to take advantage of. But now here he was, still without Pokémon of his own, no closer to taking down the Rocket Syndicate, having to put up with their mindless distraction at this stupid-ass tournament. There wasn't any reason for him to subject himself to this. None. Absolutely nothing.

The crowd among the stands began to quiet their blabbering and he knew the ceremony was starting. A person, a woman maybe, stepped out onto the inner field where tournament authorities had hastily set up eight elevated battle platforms. Before her, emerging from the catacombs of the stadium, the hundred-plus participants appeared. Silver grabbed his ears as microphone ringing blared around the arenas, but that soon passed as the speech began.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and the variations thereupon… welcome to the Goldenrod Showdown!"

The tens of thousands of people in attendance exploded into cheers. Giant display screens tethered to the edges of the stadium flashed with bright colors to display event graphics and logos. Once the spectators quieted, the woman proceeded.

"For those unaware of the rules, this is a single-elimination, three-on-three restricted battle competition. That means that no items are allowed during battles, participants cannot switch Pokémon with the purpose of avoiding an attack, and a single loss removes you from the bracket, with the sole exception of the semifinal losers, who will battle each other for the third and fourth place spots." As she was speaking, the jumbotrons flashed with infographics matching her verbal information.

"In addition, participants are drawn randomly during each round and before each match using a random-number generator, so no participant will have any advanced knowledge on who they are facing or what Pokémon they use. The final total for participants is 127," she said, holding a pause. "Participant number 127, one Moe Jūyō, enjoy your bye for this round, sweetie." The woman waved sarcastically. "Because of the volume of participants, today will compose of the first two rounds and we'll run for about five hours, sparing an hour break for lunch and festivities after the conclusion of the first round."

As the woman spoke, Silver curiously stared down into the pit of the arena, seeing if he could locate the two trainers he was technically there to spectate. Dumb hat, dumb hat, dumb hat… "There," he noted to himself, eyes landing on the girl's dumb hat. The annoying boy next to her was jumping around enough to also be visible from his distance.

"I will now begin announcing the first-round participants. In the first match, participants 27 and 70. In the second, 11 and 21. Third, 48 and 8. Fourth, 2 and 73. Fifth, 123 and 40. Sixth, 91 and 13. Seventh, 61 and 82. And eighth is 89 and 3. These matches will occur simultaneously." With a resounding clap, the woman brought her hands together, resonating through the microphone across the stadium. "Get to it!"

Narrowing his eyes, he could see the dumb hat beginning to move towards one of the platforms and he matched it with the match displayed on the screen above. Ninety-one and thirteen. If anything, he was obligated to watch her battle if it could give him any insight on how to get more powerful. She had to have some secret, right?

He sank further into his hoodie. This was all a big waste of time. He was sure of that.

* * *

Ciel's heart threatened to pound through his chest as he ascended to the battle platform. To his left and right, he saw trainers lining up one after another on each side of their respective arenas. People with crazy uncommon hair colors surprised him, and he was reminded that this event wasn't limited to the people in Johto. No, this was a worldwide event, and he was on stage. He fought back against the shaking and sweating and buzzing and shivering going on inside him. His team had to impress, and he wasn't about to back down from that challenge.

Three-on-three meant one of his Pokémon was benched, which would be an easy choice. Hector, while powerful, had the least training of his entire team as well as the lowest mobility. Without any terrain to take advantage of on a flat, standardized battle arena, the Rhyhorn had little chance.

Participant 40 emerged over the opposite end of the battlefield, landing a pair of spurred boots onto the raised floor. A distinct jingle of metal parts caught Ciel's attention, but not more than the lasso curled and secured on his belt.

"Howdy, mister," said the boy, projecting his voice to be heard over the spectators. Judging by the voice, he was older than Ciel by a year or two. "I'm an apprentice Pokémon ranger from Unova. I bet y'all don't have those in this here region. The name's Clyde Hazaar Westwood, and I'm up to bein' the best ranger to ever live."

Ciel felt himself grinning at the ambition. He clutched his first Poké Ball. "You've got a lofty goal, and I've got one of my own. Whoever wins is the one that wants it more. I'm Ciel Verglas Fauder."

"Huh," the country boy sounded. "Ya' look Johtoan 'cept the hair, but yer name don't sound it."

"I've been told," Ciel replied. "You ready to get started?"

"As you'll find, 'See-ehl', I'm always ready for a nice battle."

"Before we begin," shouted the voice of the tournament director through a crackling microphone, "I would like to introduce our special guests for this event. Would all in attendance direct their attention to the club seating below the luxury boxes." The entire crowd quieted as every head in the arena turned towards the VIPs. Their larger-than-life presences were astounding, and Ciel couldn't believe he would have the chance not only to be close to some of the greatest Pokémon experts in the region, but also flaunt his skills to those same people.

"Visiting from Kanto and considered the world's greatest authority on Pokémon behavioral science and Pokémon-human relationships, Professor Samuel Oak!"

The cameras feeding to the jumbotron focused on a man with a sharp, yet friendly, face who wore a lab coat. He was somewhat plain-looking, but Ciel knew he was well-respected globally as a scientist. He'd even read textbooks authored by the man for some high school courses. Next to him in the stands was a twenty-something trainer with spiky, dirty-orange hair.

"I'd also like to introduce another out-of-region guest, Siebold Narcisse, member of the Kalos Elite Four. He was on business in here in Johto to prepare meals for a ceremonial summit between the Indigo and Global Pokémon Leagues. So, welcome to our fine competition, Chef Narcisse."

A gaudy looking man in a suit, or possible apron, or possibly both, bowed formally to the audience. The look about his face, if Ciel were to judge, was uppity. The kind of person he would find insufferable to speak to. As the director rattled off a few more facts about the man, he adjusted the cuffs on his sleeves and then sat back down.

"And, of course, how could we forget our own national figures, representing the best our citizenry has to offer? I introduce to the region, and to the world, the Gym Leaders of Johto!" Nine trainers stood from their seats and the crowd went ballistic. The trainers that were considered the pinnacle of the region's ability, those that would represent the major cities of Johto as leaders and as trainers. He felt as much respect for them as any person could, especially the blue-haired man who had helped teach him and overcome his first challenge. But, he felt his heart sank as he recognized how many were standing.

"I bring special attention to Pryce Yanagi, our beloved former Gym Leader of Mahogany, who retired this year." The wizened trainer remained seated at the feet of the two who replaced him. "And it is my honor to give the first national introduction to the brilliant couple who succeeded Pryce's legacy, Kori and Daku Fauder!"

The crowd clapped a drowning applause, eyes fixated on the robed woman and her blond partner. He couldn't tear his own eyes away, but for a different reason. Ciel knew he'd be there. There was no reason he wouldn't, but he held out some stupid hope that the man wouldn't be there to watch him. As he leveled his eyes at his parents, he saw his father returning the gaze.

That no-good, worthless man. Deep down, Ciel had enjoyed being so far away as he traveled through Johto, not having to live in the same vicinity as the person he hated most. Maybe that was the reason he came to such a hasty decision to leave in the first place, even if it meant leaving Laina alone with him. The young trainer's blood boiled at the thought that she could have been hurt in the time he'd been gone, and he cursed himself for running away.

"—the two most famous trainers worldwide to commence our first battles of the tournament!"

What? The director had continued to speak while he turned to his inner thoughts and he missed everything but the last bit. Two people appeared high above the arena on the same platform that old woman had used to trim the participants. They were barely even two people. They were legends.

An explosive hair of deep-red complementing a billowing blue cape. Alluring platinum blonde over an outfit of deep black. Ciel couldn't believe it. For the first time in his entire life, he was seeing in the flesh the living gods at the top of their world. Among tens of thousands of people, their auras, their shared presence, their sheer existence snuffed out everything else.

Ciel was aiming to be a great trainer. He wanted to protect those he loved and to have the power to bring joy to those people. In front of him stood the model of that achievement. Those two trainers who stood above almost all else in fulfilling their dreams. Cynthia and Lance Masuta. One, the champion of Sinnoh, respected archaeologist, mythologist, and political ambassador. The other, the champion of the Indigo Plateau, legendary hero, and current master of Johto's elusive "Dragon Clan."

Cynthia's voice around the arena brought everyone to a standstill as she grabbed the microphone. "It is my every honor to be able to be here today to preside over the next generation of trainers. You all have my best wishes in battle and in life. Some of you will leave here today under the expectant eyes of training agencies the world over. Others will leave with valuable knowledge in spite of loss and a raised ground from which to climb higher than ever before. Yet still, almost all of you will exit this stadium with rivals, friends, and new allies who will encourage you to push your limits into the beyond!"

As she spoke, Ciel noticed the four edges of his arena light up with an azure glow. The light rocketed to the sky, surround his and every other arena present with nigh-imperceptible reflective energy barriers. A referee took position inside the new boundary.

Lance jumped off directly where his partner ended. "Today you will display both your strength as a team as well as your mental fortitude. Only true power is created when trainer and team think as one and channel the battling instinct locked inside us all. It is what makes us truly feel alive. It is what allows us to see beyond life into a new unknown!"

Ciel turned to his first opponent, feeling the energy of their words empower his body. The apprentice ranger appeared the same, as if channeling the presence of the two legendary trainers. Their effect on people was indescribable. Ciel knew for sure that he would battle with everything he had.

Cynthia and Lance began alternating. "Take to the skies!" echoed the woman. "Fire towards the stars!" shouted the man.

Ciel clenched his first Poké Ball by his side and he could feel his partner inside raring to go.

The two legendary trainers joined their voices as one. With a final resounding cry, they announced to the trainers their command.

" _Battle begin!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And so, the Goldenrod Showdown begins!**
> 
> **According to my outline, was supposed to end this chapter at the halfway point in Ciel and Lyra's first round battles, but I didn't want to push it into the insane length like some of the previous, so I'll be doing something tricky next time to avoid adding an additional chapter. Plus, I really liked the mood the final scene ended on and thought it would be a fitting conclusion.**
> 
> **Still no news on Pokémon 2019, which I hoped would be alluded to in the recent Nintendo Direct. Oh well. I guess we'll have to wait for a Pokemon-specific presentation in the coming months to figure out when that is, but I'm excited, nonetheless.**
> 
> **Since I just so happened to read one while procrastinating editing this chapter, I'd like to give some extra advertising to Nekoama, a webcomic artist who creates a fun Pokémon strip called "Lil' Char and the Gang," which you can find here: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/lil-char-and-the-gang-a-pokemon-parody-series/list?title_no=154745 &page=1 as well as on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Imgur. This isn't a paid promotion or anything, I just really like their content and though some other people might enjoy it if unfamiliar.**
> 
> **Next time! Multiple fast-paced battles, foreshadowed family drama, more of Silver's abrasive personality, and probably the Rockets! It's Chapter 13: Sides of a Western Coin. See you around!**


	13. Sides of a Western Coin

You fucked up now, man.

_You fucked it up so hard._

As he sat on the receiving end of what looked like an intervention, Proton could only replay in his mind how hard he had fucked up. The Slowpoke Well operation had gone so smoothly up until those idiot kids decided to butt in, and for some baffling reason, they managed to knock out every grunt the Boss had lent him. He wasn't sure anyone besides himself and the enforcer devil got away before the police arrived and had their way.

That's what this was about, he was sure. The Boss took drags on her cigar in silence, not yet moving to initiate the trial. Archer stood firm beside her desk, his smug face and blue hair looking impeccable as ever, while Petrel, the purple-haired bastard, leaned his crooked back against a nearby wall. All the eyes were on him. Despite not being very powerful, at that moment, the lights of the Boss's office were blinding.

Ariana tapped her stogie on an ashtray to signal for attention. "I believe it's time we rated your recent performance, Proton."

Fuck. Fuck.  _Fuck._ He was going to die.

"According to Agent Vampire's report, you shipped around 600 to 800 Slowpoke tails and kept the job running for about a week. Fifteen of our men were arrested, leaving only you, Vampire, and the drivers and boat workers who were away from the well when the police arrived."

" _I'm not sure Ariana would appreciate you not taking responsibility, Proton."_

He waited for her to say it and to put a barrel to his head. He'd tried to bargain to himself and throw the rest of the organization under the bus, and the worst part is, if they'd asked him where the Rockets had their secret headquarters, he probably would have told them. He'd panicked and only thought of himself, and all it took to shut him and his grunts down was a couple of dumb kids.

"I believe congratulations are in order," the Boss said. "Well done."

He suddenly looked upwards, sweat beading from around his forehead. "W-what?" he stammered.

Archer had a contemplating look about his face, as if weighing all possible outcomes. "Under the circumstances, it was far from terrible. You made the most of the manpower we provided, and because we provided so little, the gain outweighs the loss."

He was dumbfounded. "We got caught and lost fifteen guys! How could we—" He cut himself off and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, afraid he'd ruin his chances by speaking out of line.

"Tsk, tsk, Proton. It seems that you don't fully understand how the Syndicate works yet," the Boss said while puffing and twirling her hair. "The goal isn't to work efficiently or even to look out for each other. We make as much money as we can, and by the time one operation is chewed up by the authorities, we're already initiating the next five. And fortunately for you, you've made us quite a lot of money."

She slapped some figures in front of him, though they didn't surprise him. Suckers with lots of money the world over were willing to pay millions to eat a single tail for a fancy meal, even if they tasted no better than legally edible Pokémon. That restaurant in Orre must have been booming.

"And, of course, a large cut of that is yours. We can wire payments to your account over time to avoid suspicion, or we can just provide cash," said Archer. He ran a hand through his hair. Obviously, his slick look was a priority.

The payment didn't matter to him in that moment because the fear hadn't subsided. Instead, it had shifted. He tried his hardest to prevent his outward appearance from showing how utterly unnerved he was, but he was nowhere near in the clear. Agent Vampire, Sird, the woman had spared from the Boss that one little detail. He knew it wasn't out of good will. She wasn't that kind of person. Wherever she was now, she was probably maniacally laughing to herself.

The purple-haired woman now had something to hold over him. If Ariana knew he stepped out of line and was about to give her up, she'd shove a gun barrel so far down his throat the bullet would come out the other end. Sird had his death sentence in the palm of her hand, and it meant that working with the Rockets had become far more dangerous. Even worse, he feared that crazy bitch would strongarm him into doing her own dirty work, and he'd be helpless to do anything about it.

"We're going to need your assistance again, and this time, you'll be taking more of your preferred role. Security, planning, and whatnot."

He hesitantly agreed, feeling that his hidden mistake gave him little choice. "I'll do whatever you need."

"That's good, Proton, because our next target is going to be the most difficult heist in the history of this entire organization."

Both Petrel and Proton seemed to know in advance what it was. Petrel, the scoliotic, spoke up for the first time that meeting, but it was hardly a grumble. Something in clear disagreement. The Boss took one final drag on her cigar before crushing the flame in the tray.

"Gentlemen, it's time we set our sights on the Indigo Plateau."

* * *

"Slash!"

"Metal Claw!"

Horn and claw collided a resounding metallic twang. The repeating sound brought his attention to the suspicious absence of any other noise. He spared a few glances to look around past the blue-transparent energy barrier just to confirm that the crowd was still there.

"Aim low, Pawniard," his opponent ordered, his country accent carrying through to his battle commands.

"Parry!" Ciel countered.

The red-black helmeted Pokémon reeled back and swung one bladed appendage towards Raven's leg. The feline Pokémon drew back, and with a quick head tilt, caught the blade against her sickle once again.

Judging by its look, this "Pawniard" could only fight in hand-to-hand—or blade-to-blade—combat. According to one general biology book he'd read, the easiest way for a trainer to size up an opponent was to quickly notice and cross-reference physical features with Pokémon they had met before. Bladed limbs, a horn, and what looked like an exterior rib cage? Unless any of them could fire out like missiles, there weren't any openings or vents to expel special attacks from. The question of when he'd become such a book nerd interrupted his train of thought before he boarded once again.

While he'd normally rejoice Raven being matched up with someone she could fight on equal footing, it meant that while he wasn't in immediate danger of being barraged at long-range, it would be more difficult to make her mark in her preferred battle style. The Pawniard was matching her blow for blow, obviously as practiced in melee as its opponent. Raven's slender limbs and fur gave her minor protection, but the advantage wasn't notable.

"Retreat back to me, Raven," he called. His partner, eager for the parley with her opponent, hesitated a moment before releasing their locked horn clash and jumping backwards. The sudden lack of resistance sent the short, red and black Pokémon stumbling.

"Well there, 'See-Ehl,' it seems we ain't makin' much progress," announced Westwood. Ciel assumed he was the kind of guy who went by his last name. He stood at a casual posture. "So, where ya from?"

Ciel did a double take as he nearly threw his arm forward and called another attack, only to realize that his opponent's comment wasn't a battle order. The boy kicked out his boot to roll its metal spur along the floor of their arena.

"Err, I'm from here. Goldenrod. Well technically, not from here. I moved away just recently, but I didn't really live there, and now I'm back…" he trailed off, embarrassment in his cheeks. He was so caught off guard he was having trouble.

"Well, as I said, I'm from Unova. We got a lotta cities n' deserts back there, so this Region is a cool change 'a pace. Nice place."

"Why'd you come all the way out here?" Ciel asked him, still unsure of the mid-battle conversation.

"Well, I been in my Region all my life, so I thought it was time for a change. I'm still goin' back to train, but I been traveling to see if I can use my skills elsewhere. Maybe Johto's in need 'a ranger organization to protect wildlife, ya' know?"

By this point, Raven was getting antsy. Ciel spoke in her place. "Shouldn't we get back to… you know…"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," said Westwood. "It's just that battle is a real good place to learn about people, not just Pokémon. I try to savor that. Now, let's go at it!"

"Raven, on the defensive," he said. She bared her sickle, which reflected a gleam.

Westwood snapped his fingers and prepared his assault. "Pawniard, Fury Cutter." Without another hiatus, his Pokémon launched from a standstill, blades empowered with energy, bearing down on its opponent.

The Fury Attack barely glanced off Ray's side. His disc-shaped body had the advantage of throwing off opponents by changing his facing direction.

"He's in range now, use Mega Drain!" commanded Crystal.

Ray stretched his disk-shaped body forward and stuck his superior leaf bundle directly into the fluff of the Swablu. The particles needed to connect with another Pokémon to activate the move, so physically contacting the opposing Pokémon only expedited the process. As quickly as they transferred, the life-draining spots returned to sender.

"My darling! Oh, do please get out of there. I cannot stand to see you hurt, my dear Swablu!" cried the other girl on the field. Wrapped up in her stuffy fur coat, she looked spoiled rotten. And that voice. Shrill, formal, accented, and off-putting. It made Crystal wish the field's energy barriers weren't soundproof so the crowd could drown it out, but then they wouldn't be able to command their own Pokémon over the cacophony.

Her Swablu, a fluff-covered blue bird Pokémon with a white beak, gently floated away from Ray, as if lighter than the air itself. It didn't appear damaged at all by the Mega Drain, so she confirmed her assumption that it was part Flying. However, she wasn't intending for it to be a devastating blow; the connection had allowed Ray to leave tiny seeds within his opponent's fluff, invisible to the other trainer from this angle.

"Swablu, do stay out of danger, but use Round. Your trainer, Felicity Everlyne III, commands you," called her trainer.

Her bird partner matched one grating song with another. The wide movements of damaging soundwaves were almost visible as they washed over Ray. Crystal could see his body squeezing in on itself as it tried to resist, but as the echo of the Round concluded, he was clearly shaken and damaged.

"Use Solar—" she cut herself off, realizing that it was impossible. She and Ray had tried to use the move again before, but without massive amounts of sunlight, he hadn't exercised his natural abilities enough to use Solar Beam with his own power. Gold's Togepi had used Sunny Day down in the well, which is why she was able to use it in a pinch, but it was an overcast morning with even darker clouds rolling in from the distance. Ray didn't have any further role to play since he already seeded his opponent. Crystal held out a Poké Ball. "Ray, switch," she calmly said.

Her opponent held her hands up to her cheeks and gasped. "Is someone running away? And here I thought you the brash, headstrong type!"

She tapped the button and Ray began to dematerialize. "I like to think of myself as rational and calculative," she rebutted. Though, given how quick she was to throw herself into Slowpoke Well, she'd been learning recently how to do the opposite. In one hand, she took hold of the brim of her hat, while the other tossed a Pokémon into battle.

The ball popped open in a flare and his next team member took shape. Arden erupted both figuratively and literally from the capsule and after only a moment of confusion charged against his bladed foe.

"Close in and use Ember!" announced Ciel. "But stay out of the reach of those blades."

His rodent fighter released a fireball from his snout that raced his own momentum forward. The Pawniard tried to dodge, but the speed of the projectile caught the creature's shoulder. The recoil confirmed his guess that the creature was part Steel-type, meaning the switch gave him a powerful advantage. Ciel had only recently begun trying to switch Pokémon during battles, and even after trying multiple times, it was complicated to know who to use when.

His opponent evidently was intent to tough out the sudden tip of the scales. "Normal attacks now, Pawniard, or else we ain't doin' any damage. Slash!"

"Ember again, keep it at a distance!"

The second attack wasn't nearly as accurate and passed right over the Pawniard. It seemed to recognize that the fireballs traveled in a slightly upwards arc, because it kept itself low as it pushed forward. A blade swung around itself.

"Dodge, Arden!"

His active Pokémon attempted to turn around and roll back towards Ciel. However, the trainer wasn't quick enough on the order, and Arden cried out as the sharp weapon tore a cut into his backside. He tripped on himself and fell to the ground. Arden's opponent stood valiantly above him.

"Knock it out, Pawniard!" commanded Westwood.

There was an opening! With Arden on his stomach and the opponent right on top of him, his flames were face-up and the enemy had mistakenly put itself too close. "Arden, ignite as hard as you can! Full power!"

Summoning his power, Arden's flame sacs burst into overdrive. As the Pawniard swung a blade down for the finishing move, it was engulfed in the sudden, passionate explosion. Both Ciel and Westwood held their breath in anticipation of the fallout, and when the smoke cleared, the Pawniard had collapsed. Arden pulled himself to his feet, declaring himself the victor.

The referee, the only other person in their soundproof space, raised a yellow flag. "Participant 40's Pokémon is unable to battle! Send out your next Pokémon, Participant 40." He kept the flag raised as Westwood recalled his fallen fighter.

"That was mighty intense, 'See-ehl.' Wow. Well, one defeat ain't gonna set me back. You take a good long rest, Pawniard," he said as the beam fully retracted into his capsule, "and let someone else show 'em what for."

Ciel's heart pounded in his chest. He was winning his first ever tournament battle and it was proving difficult to keep his excitement—or nervousness—in check. Arden returned to him in the short liminal period before the next battle. He ignited.

"Whoa, buddy, calm down there," he told his Pokémon as he kneeled. Every excitement-fueled burst of his flaming backside singed at his own wound, and though he found the alternation between squeaking and wincing somewhat funny, he urged his Pokémon to calm down. "You took a big hit there. I think you should rest for the rest of this battle. I'll call you if we need you, alright?" Arden nuzzled his leg, to which he responded with a loving scratch to the head.

He reported his own choice to switch to the referee. "If you switch your Pokémon now, since it's between battles, I will enforce that Participant 40 has the first move. Is this acceptable?"

"Yes, sir," Ciel said.

"Very well." The man held raised his yellow flag until both parties released their new Pokémon. As Westwood's capsule popped open, the materialization beam from his own Poké Ball called out a new teammate. The referee brought down a green flag.

"Maron, use Bubble!"

Bubbles burst against the Swablu's hide, but the cotton coating kept it shielded from major harm. Was it able to resist special attacks, or was Maron's own weak special power notl enough to penetrate it? She supposed it didn't matter.

"It's time we attacked, darling! Use Peck!" commanded Felicity Everlyne III, swinging her arm out within her fur coat.

A beat of the round bird's wings sent it spiraling across the arena. It brandished its beak forward. Crystal wasn't going to advise her partner to dodge, since he needed to be as close as possible to deal any significant return damage. He recognized this himself, as he had his tail planted on the floor and ready to spring to retaliate. The Peck struck Maron in the arm, which he brought up to block. He swatted away the Flying type, but it kept hounding him with jabs.

"Jump and smash downward with Pound!" she yelled.

Her partner mimicked her thought exactly, sprung into the air, and rotated directly down his center axis. His tail's momentum built around the spin and slammed the bird over the head. With a choke of surprise, it impacted the floor of the arena. Fortunately, unlike the last time she pulled this trick, Maron had held back enough not to damage the floor.

"My darling Swablu!" rang a pained cry. "Oh, darling, I can't believe you've been bested so." A red beam swallowed the form of the downed Flying type and recalled it from the field to announce the end of the battle. Crystal watched as Felicity fidgeted in her fur coat. "At least we've tired that poor little vagabond to make it easier for my other beauties."

"First of all, why does everything you say sound patronizing?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Secondly, not quite. Maron's pretty happy and healthy, I think."

Crystal's little trooper flexed his arms to display his condition. Such a proud warrior. He'd been subtly draining energy from the Swablu throughout their battle from the planted Leech Seed and it had evened out most of his physical damage and exhaustion. The seeds had disappeared with the Swablu's dematerialization, but she was still three Pokémon strong, two of them in perfect condition.

Crystal decided to recall Maron and try out her newest team member. With approval from the referee, she lobbed a Poké Ball skyward, releasing a Spinarak onto the field. Felicity replaced her own Pokémon, a pink, egg-shaped creature Crystal recognized as a Happiny.

Once the referee swung his green flag, their battle would begin again. A bead of sweat ran down her cheek, but she wiped it away with confidence. "Penelope, let's get to it." The arachnid Pokémon gently shook her green abdomen in agreement. A green flag was cast.

* * *

Silver had come to regret sitting so far back because the battle was more interesting than he expected. So, he moved a seat upwards. A couple of minutes later, he moved another seat upwards. And then another. And then another.

And then he sat huddled inside his hoodie amidst multiple cheering fans. The evident frown on his face was seen by nobody. It was entirely possible that he'd just stolen his new seat from a poor sap who went to the restroom, but no one called him out for it and everyone was too engrossed watching the various giant screens to care. Good for him.

The girl had pulled out a Spinarak and was dueling against a Happiny, according to the display directly above her battle arena. She and the Pokémon discovered that the energy barriers surrounding the platform were semi-solid and could sustain the Bug-type's webbing. Rather than facing her opponent head on, she'd opted to instruct the Spinarak to construct a makeshift web, hang upside down outside of the opponent's range, and attempt to drip poison on the egg-shaped enemy. It looked like a cartoon as he watched the Happiny scramble about on the floor.

The battle was  _interesting,_  yes, but it was also massively stupid.

As he tried to argue with himself internally over whether he was learning something or just wasting away, he looked elsewhere. Up in the V.I.P. box, all the stuck-up League persons watched the battles intently. Ultimately, he hated the League out of principle—he wasn't a fan of bureaucratic triviality and all the trainer evaluations and vetting processes. It was part of the reason why it took him some time to get a Pokémon after the Rockets kicked him out. That was over two years ago at that point. Three years since that bastard was beaten and up and left.

Huh. One of the Gym Leader seats was vacant. There were eight of them, or nine, since the Mahogany Gym recently replaced one with two. He took a mental tally. A blue-haired man in a gi, a purple haired… person, a blonde twenty-something, a fat muscled guy without a shirt, a short lady in a dress, the Mahogany couple with the previous old geezer, and then that sour-faced blue-haired woman. Wasn't one missing?

Silver noticed some shuffling to his right. Someone in a traditional dress made her way quickly up the stairs of the stands towards the exit. He wondered why she was running for a moment, only to notice shortly after some burly men in black suits and sunglasses wading their way through the occupied seats towards her.

He was already up and running. They looked like Rocket goons, and damn if he was going to let them get away with whatever it was. Both girl and goons disappeared through the passage into the interior of the stadium and he followed. A League salesman trying to extort hundreds in exchange for snacks got in his way. Silver gladly knocked the man aside.

He appeared in the darkened hall. Silver quickly scanned the area until his eyes landed on the two suits running full speed towards the girl. "Stop!" he shouted.

By the time they had turned around at the intruder, his fist was already swinging. It connected with one of the goon's cheek and sent him tumbling to the floor.

The other moved to neutralize him, but he ducked under a massive swing. As tall as he was, Silver was still more agile than the hulking beasts of men he was fighting against. He slammed his heel down into the man's foot, causing him to cry out, and he used that opportunity to bring up his knee. It slammed into the man's gut and he dropped immediately.

Silver returned to the other, who he was sure the punch hadn't knocked out. He reached down, and with one hand grasped to his collar, he pulled his other hand back in a fist. The Rockets should have known better than to show their faces around there. He already issued his warning to Proton, and hopefully that sniveling loser reported up the chain of command. The boy looked vengefully upon the dazed man, sunglasses falling off his face with a bloody nose revealed. Every look on one of the Rockets made him feel sick. Not with disgust, but with rage.

"Wait, stop!" gasped the girl's voice just as Silver was rearing back to knock the man's lights out. "Don't hurt them! They're my retainers, they don't mean any harm!"

Retainers? Silver twiced-over the burly man, confused. He looked no different than a typical member of the Rocket Syndicate. Black suit, belt, sunglasses, the whole look. Sure, he wasn't wearing a giant R across his chest, but when they were out in public, the Rockets weren't looking to be arrested on the spot.

He dropped the man, who released a soft "ow". "So, these are yours?" he said. He found himself disappointed.

"Yes, yes, they're… they're mine," she said. He didn't recognize her, but based on her ornate dress and adornments, she must have been some spoiled rich brat. Who else would need any bodyguards rather than learning to defend themselves?

"Fucking waste of my time, then. I should have known the Rockets wouldn't show themselves at a place like this." Silver shoved his hands into his pockets, tucked some stray locks of his hair back into his hood, and made to get out. It was time for him to ditch the whole tournament so as to not risk getting confronted by security. Not like he was learning anything from the battles anyway.

"Wait!" she called. "I'd just like to thank you for helping me. These men may be my retainers, but they're working against me. My family sent them to come get me and I'd rather not return. You have my humblest gratitude."

"You're crazy if you think I was doing that to be  _nice,_  little girl," he said. "I just really, really don't like some people and I thought these two were associates." He surveyed the men he laid out. Neither was trying to get up and one was mumbling about losing his job.

"I don't believe you understand," she said and began to approach.

That tone annoyed him. The same kind of tone and words people say when they think they're stronger and can boss him around. Silver turned to face her with a scowl. She backed off.

"I don't particularly mind your motive or whatever confusion this has caused you. You did the right thing. I'm not trying to thank you for what you didn't do, but rather what you did."

He still didn't like her tone, especially that uppity air about it, but it got his interest enough to get him to relax his shoulders and face. Still, he reclused further into his hoodie, indicating just how much he didn't want to be there.

"May I ask you something, sir?" she asked.

He grumbled under his breath. "Fine."

"How do you do it? How do you see a problem and act in the heat of the moment? Ever since I, umm," the girl pointed to the two downed men, "ran away, I've constantly needed to be saved from troubled situations. While I fled from those two, you fought them head-on."

"I told you, I didn—"

"Shush!" she declared, revealing a surprising authority behind her meek disposition. It must have been that formal lifestyle. "I already said that I don't care what motivated you. I just want to know how you find that motivation. How you put your mind to something and stop running from your problems."

He thought about it for a moment, but ultimately realized he didn't have an answer. Or, rather, the answer was so simple that it was essentially nonexistent. "You just do it." Silver spent years with the Rocket Syndicate, taking orders from Ariana and Giovanni and trying to make something of himself. "One day, it snaps, and you decide that you want it to change." It was only two years ago that he finally had enough and set out on his own. Silver decided that he was sick of trying to prove himself from the inside and that he could do it just as well without their protection. "You might mull over it for a while before, but in the end, you don't actually think about it. You just do it, and you keep doing it. I think that most trainers can say the same thing."

She stared past him for a while. "I see. We're both imperfect. You've already passed the threshold without knowing how much good you could create, while I can barely step foot over and have to rely on others to pull my weight."

He said nothing.

"Just think about what good you could do, please. I'll think about how to take my step."

Finally, he stepped backwards. "I need to go. I'm missing a match."

The girl giggled. "Of course. I wouldn't want to keep you. I'll go search for medical personnel to help these two gentlemen, and they should leave me be for a while. I'll say that they, err, bumped heads."

Silver made his way back towards the entrance to the stands, leaving behind the dressed girl, hoping he hadn't missed too much of the battle. Fortunately, he spied that dumb hat as soon as it was in view and took another seat.

* * *

"Use Wing Attack!" ordered both trainers in unison.

With power channeling through their wings, both Ciel and Westwood's flying Pokémon clashed mid-air. The Rufflet landed one across Clovis's chest just as the Pidgey clipped the opponent's head in return. Both immediately grounded rather than risk being knocked out of the sky.

The arena floor wasn't solid material. Filling in the boundaries was a fine gravel, sand, dirt mixture meant to replicate a wild battle, strong enough to stand on but meant to be played with. He could finally take advantage of that fact. "Clovis, Sand Attack!"

His Pidgey kicked up clumps of sand and tossed them across the arena at the rival bird, blanketing it in a cloud of debris.

"Use Peck!" called the Unovan ranger.

The rounded form of his Rufflet broke through the cloud. The sudden break through his distraction caught Clovis off-guard, allowing the round-headed bird to tuck in its wings and jam its beak into Clovis's side. Sand Attack was supposed to make it more difficult for an opponent to land hits by blinding it, but the other Flying-type was unphased.

"People call it Keen Eye." Westwood answered his mental question when the dust cleared. "My Rufflet's got some nice little eye guards, so he ain't likely to be deterred by some sand."

Right. Abilities. Ciel was only vaguely aware of his own Pokémon's natural Abilities. They were difficult to determine without medical examination or activating noticeably in battle. Raven's might involve that one incident with the Pineco in the woods, and he was told that Cyndaquils as a species had one that powered up their flame production in certain circumstances, but other than that he was in the dark.

"Clovis, use Tackle!" he shouted. His Pidgey recovered as effectively as possible from the previous attack and slammed his body into the opponent, but it only left him further open.

"Rufflet, we've got this. Fury Attack, now!" shouted Westwood.

One. Two. Three. Four. Repeated directly claw swipes from the opponent's Pokémon raked across Clovis's body at close range. He tried to tell his Pokémon to dodge but placing him so close had made it impossible. Clovis fell to the ground of the arena, exhausted.

"Challenger 123's Pokémon is unable to battle! Please send in another Pokémon, challenger," said the referee."

They were almost finished. Raven was still in fine condition and Arden could fight if necessary, so he was two to one. Westwood's Pawniard was declared down, as was the canine creature he sent as his second. Ciel could feel his heart once again. His excitement threatened to make him pass out, but he didn't want to risk slipping because of unchecked emotions. He swallowed the lump in his throat, blinked twice, took a deep breath, and released Raven back to the field.

"How do you like my last Pokémon, darling?" Felicity's sing-song voice cast around Crystal. She took a deep breath and ignored her to focus on examining the situation. Her eyes scanned the creature.

Its lithe body was difficult to gauge. She'd seen Happiny before, and even Swablu in some magazine, but this one was a complete unknown. It hopped alternately on each of its large feet and white fur covered its entire body from its toes to the tip of its ears. The only breakup of its primary color was patches of red and what seemed like a bandage across its face.

Because of that she could only speculate its type. Using Pokedexes were disallowed by the tournament rules, she was aware.

"Scorbunny, Jump Kick, why don't you?" she asked more than commanded.

The size of the unknown creature's feet translated into a jump height of at least three meters. It extended its foot, the momentum carrying it straight downwards towards Ray.

"Roll out of the way!" she shouted.

Using his minimal body control, Ray twirled his body like a disk to attempt to dodge but was slammed into hard with the opponent's foot. The force launched him into the energy shield behind her and dropped him to the ground. Her Sunkern slowly brought himself to a ready position and hopped back to battle, but it was clear he was in bad shape.

"That little yellow creature of yours is certainly persistent, isn't it?" Felicity asked. "And here I thought that would have put him down for good, especially since my Scorbunny dealt with your little Bug so easily."

Crystal felt an iota of pride. "My entire team is stronger than they look,  _Felicity Everlyne_ ," she said in a mocking tone, wondering what kind of ego someone needed to refer to themselves in the third person with their full name.

"Be that as it may, I'm in the business of bringing a trophy home to my family, and you're in my way, miss," the fluff-dressed girl told her. "Scorbunny, you can drop the act. We're going to have to fight her Water-type anyways. Use Blaze Kick."

"What?" Crystal gasped.

The small creature had already crossed the arena before she could react, and for the first time that battle, she could see a distinct trail of flames licking through the grass. She knew what was coming, but neither she nor Ray would have the power to avoid it.

The mammalian Pokémon's foot ignited, and it brought the kick around its body. The direct hit slammed Ray into the ground, and she knew before the yellow flag was raised that he couldn't have survived the super-effective hit. Her Sunkern rolled to her feet, unconscious.

Felicity was smarter than she let on by hiding her Pokémon's typing. Even though both Penelope and Ray were weak to fire, she had correctly banked on Crystal being unfamiliar with the lagomorph and avoided her switching to Maron. Both of their remaining Pokémon were nearly in the same condition, so it all came down to their natural ability and the skill of the trainers.

She released Maron from his Poké Ball and called Bubble as soon as the green flag fell. A few orbs struck home, but the opponent used his agility to advantage to remain out of Maron's range. He jumped once again and landed in front of her partner.

Felicity shouted her order. "Quick Attack!" A lightning-fast kick connected, but Maron avoided being knocked around by planting his tail for stability.

"Bubble, again!"

The Scorbunny had already jumped out of range by the time the bubbles formed. Crystal cursed that Maron's only usable Water-type attack was special when he was a physical fighter. Felicity also seemed to recognize this. They had to do something unexpected to take the lead.

"Maron, do you want to try a new move?" she asked her partner. "We need to come up with something to end this battle."

Her partner cast her a backwards glance and nodded. They had never attempted it before—only once had they even discussed it—but it was worth a shot. "Try to focus your energy to your tail!"

The sickle began to glow once again as he gave the order. However, it dissipated immediately, forcing him to order Raven to use Slash instead. She swiped the underside of the Rufflet as it flew by. A few drops of blood told them that they weren't far from downing the bird, but at the same time, he once again faced Raven's mobility problem as he had at the Violet Gym.

"Y'alright, Rufflet?" called a concerned Westwood. The bird retreated to his side of the field and nodded to reassure its trainer. "I'd say we better decide a winner real quick, 'See-Ehl', so neither our Pokémon get in any trouble. You ready't end this?" He tipped his hat.

Ciel agreed. He and Raven stood their opposite ground. His Absol pointed her shoulder diagonally, sickle-ear forward.

"Rufflet, take off! Let's show 'em what Unova has to offer!"

With a beat of its wings, the bird took to the sky. Once again, it was out of range, but Ciel had a plan. A dumb, simple plan, but still a plan. All he needed was the opponent to commit to a dive to make sure his attack would land.

"Stay out of range, Raven. You're fast on the ground, let it come to you!" He paused, holding in his breath. They needed a strong, single hit to end this. "I want you to try focusing to your sickle again. Just like we practiced."

Westwood's Rufflet continued to hover overhead. "Use Hone Claws. Get ready to attack!" His Pokémon responded by scraping its own talons against each other.

Ciel likened it to sharpening a kitchen knife, and whatever it was, a small flash of red energy engulfed the floating bird before dissipating. Westwood wanted to end this with one move as well. Raven continued her focus, and small flashes of black licked across her weapon.

"Rufflet, give it all you got! Aerial Ace."

The bird began its dive. That was all Ciel needed.

"What do you say we declare a sparkling conclusion, my Scorbunny?" Felicity asked her Pokémon. In response, the creature stretched its thin legs.

It was ready to pounce, and Crystal knew that it was more physically powerful than she initially thought. One clean hit from it could cost them the battle, even with the type disadvantage. She needed to end it before he had a chance to land another blow, and for that she needed him to channel his typing into his tail.

A blue light cast off the ball. A sign that his energy pathways were firing, transferring all available internal reserves to his tail. The ball inflated, implying that his internal water sac was pumping water directly to the top to increase mass. Still, he wasn't used to this kind of attack. Maron shuddered but kept focus.

"Scorbunny, use Bounce. It's too slow to dodge you, so just put it out," sang Felicity, her voice oozing with misplaced confidence. If she thought her victory was all but assured, she would think again. The Scorbunny leapt to the sky.

The Rufflet dove. Tucking its wings into its body, its velocity maximizes. He didn't order Raven to dodge. This was his opportunity, and they would meet this head-on.

In a surprising move, the white creature kicked off the energy barrier to gain downwards momentum. It twirled in its flight and outstretched one of its feet. Despite her not calling a Fire-typed attack, the dropkick licked with flame.

"Focus your energy, Raven!" he shouted. As her muscled tensed, the energy once again surged across her body into her weapon. A singular point of focus. It held.

"Maron, focus your energy!" she shouted. The blue glow engulfed his tail. He slid one foot, ready as the opponent descended.

"Jump!" Ciel ordered

"Swing!" Crystal commanded.

Raven leapt as high into the air as possible, directly into Rufflet's flight path. Committing to the dive meant the bird Pokémon had no choice. Not only could it not miss, it also couldn't dodge.

Maron swing his tail around his body. Once. Twice. The mace picked up speed and the torque multiplied the massive force he was carrying thanks to his Huge Power ability. The Scorbunny was about to connect.

" _Raven, Night Slash!"_

" _Maron, Aqua Tail!"_

Pure Dark-type energy was amplified at its single point of focus. As it hit home, it passed directly through Westwood's Rufflet.

The impact of the mace caught Felcity's Scorbunny in the cheek. The amount of momentum carried into the blow launched the rabbit directly to her left. It crashed into the energy barrier and fell motionless.

Raven landed safely, wielding only a graze on her shoulder. Westwood's Rufflet didn't manage to land as the exhaustion caused it to drop from its flight. A clean cut ran along the bird's side. It wasn't bleeding.

The silence between soundproof barriers overtook the scene for what felt an eternity. A blue flag was cast.

"Participant 13's Pokémon is unable to battle. The winner is Participant 117!

"Participant 40's Pokémon is unable to battle. The winner is Participant 123!"

In that moment, the energy barriers dropped, and Ciel felt the roar of the crowd overtake him. He glanced around at his environment. All other barriers had been deactivated, as they were one of the last battles to finish. The crowd was alive with applause and cheers. Ciel spared a quick glance at the sky, noticing some dark clouds rolling in. It was bound to rain in a couple hours, and that would only make things more interesting.

Part of him hadn't yet accepted the fact that he'd won. In his first-ever tournament, he succeeded in passing the first round. Was it a small accomplishment in the long run? Maybe. But only two-and-a-half months ago, he wasn't even sure he was going to be a trainer. In front of thousands of people, he'd loudly proclaimed that he was here.

"Err, 'See-Ehl'? You in there?"

The trainer snapped back to his senses at both the voice and the feeling of Raven rubbing against his leg. Westwood stood in front of him, calloused hand outstretched. Ciel took it and shook.

"You had me going there, man," Ciel told him.

"Little 'ol me? No way. I say it's clear yer at least better than me, 'See-Ehl'. I've gotta lot more training to do as a battler, and hopefully that'll help me as a ranger."

"You aren't sad you were eliminated in the first round?" he asked.

"Oh, sure as the grass is green I'm a bit bummed, but I had my fun and I got plenty more days here in Johto to see what it's about. And I've got to say, I'm impressed."

Ciel nodded. He felt confident in himself but also his opponent, who proved a fast friend. "I hope you can become the best Pokémon ranger you want to be."

Westwood tipped his hat. "Now  _that_  was never in question."

"Ladies and gentlemen," boomed a voice around the arena, "let's give a big round of applause to our first eight matches of the day!"

Ciel cast his eyes up into the darkening sky and found Director Ryokuna standing on her announcement pedestal. The roaring applause continued for at least a minute before she mouthed an angry "quiet!" into the microphone, silencing the crowd. "Allow us to confirm the next sixteen competitors in the tournament and we'll proceed right away."

Ciel bid farewell to Westwood and moved to find Crystal and Gold. He cast one cursory glance towards the Gym Leaders in the stands, finding his mother chatting excitedly with Pryce and his sister but his father's eyes fixated on him alone. He returned nothing but a scowl and made his way from the platform.

When he reunited with his friends, he was greeted by more familiar faces. Alongside Crystal and Gold, who were celebrating the former's victory, were Zuki and Brent. In his arms, Brent held a small brown creature with a tuft of fur circling its neck. An adorable noise escaped it.

"Congratulations, Ciel! And boy, do I have the story for you," he said, lifting up the Pokémon.

"Tell me about it," he said.

However, the director began calling out the participant numbers for the next set of matches. 94, 91, 49, 62, 1, 83, 106, 41, 64, 103, 87, 22, 50, 30, 47, 126. Ciel glanced at the single digit hanging around Brent's neck. "I guess it's gonna have to wait," his friend said. Gold shouted incoherently, running around with his 91 raised above his head.

"I'm passing you the baton," Ciel told him. He held out a high-five.

Brent slapped it and nodded. "I'll run it as far as I can." The two other boys jogged off to take their places on the battlefield, leaving Ciel, Crystal, and Zuki to wish them good luck. The storm clouds kept rolling in, but as far as Ciel was concerned, the tournament was shining as bright as he could have possibly imagined. Now it was time to see how far he—and they—could go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_Well, then._ **   
>  **See, I'm not dead. For about three weeks in a row I found myself without any amount of spare time and chewing into my standard writing time to get done some more pressing work and going so long without any leisure was draining. However, it should be past for the time being. I should really start my next story with a buffer, shouldn't I?**
> 
> **Let's hype for Generation 8! I'm part of the Scorbunny Gang, because monkey and chameleon have nothing on my fuzzy-wuzzy kick rabbit. I took the opportunity to throw in fanservice with Scorbunny since I hadn't yet written Felicity and Lyra's battle by the time the Gen VIII announcement dropped. Felicity was intended to be a prissy rich girl archetype before Galar was revealed, so I just decided to imply she was English due to how the "high-class" lifestyle is sometimes associated with the United Kingdom in western media. And, for the record, though I had Scorbunny use some Fighting-type moves in this chapter due to the lack of knowledge of its moveset, I'm not wishing we get another Fire/Fighting fiasco. I'm banking on Flying.**
> 
> **As a bit of behind-the-scenes info, this is the first chapter I've elected to split into two parts. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that Chapter 13 was originally titled "The Surprise Test" in my last update, but in writing this chapter, I was unable to get through all the content I wanted and was forced to split it up to prevent this chapter from becoming an unreadable monolith of text. Overall, I think the change is positive, even if it means stretching out my updates further alongside this four-week turnover, but I'll probably condense some lighter chapters later along to compensate.**
> 
> **So, yeah, check in next time for Chapter 14: The Surprise Test. For real this time. I swear.**


	14. The Surprise Test

Ariana broadcast an announcement to the entire base as soon as the executives left her office. hundreds of grunts squeezed through the hallways, many partially trampling him while others tried to bother him. The two major responses were excitement and fear. The Pokémon League, holding the position of the most politically and economically powerful organization the world over, presented a risk/reward scenario. If they succeeded, the Rocket Syndicate would become the stuff of legends and they'd be set for life. If they were found, it could spell their end, and any encroachment on League property was as good as a declaration of war.

Proton made no mistake in believing the Pokémon League couldn't find them. If the League had reason, nowhere on the entire globe was safe from their International Police. It was more likely that the League allowed the Rockets to exist because the cost of totally destroying the syndicate wasn't worth it. Not when they indirectly boosted business the world over, such as that Orran restaurant. He heard it was rolling out plans to expand internationally.

"Proton, you're so cool!" cried a female grunt whose cap could barely contain her wild hair. She was all over him, and while he didn't mind being so close to a beautiful lady, he was too shaken from the earlier meeting to enjoy it.

"Hey, back off, would you?" he asked. "No offense to you, but I need some space."

"Aww, don't be such a spoil-sport," she whined. He ignored her and kept moving.

It usually took him most of the day to make it from Goldenrod to the secret hideout by train, which is why he tended to leave on Friday afternoons to check in and returned Monday morning when he had no classes at the university. When not on assignment, he hung around, did classwork in his personal quarters, and hoped the Boss didn't bother him with any jobs. Though, even when he had schoolwork to do, he sometimes entertained himself by sending black faxes to wireless printers all over Johto.

Proton tracked across the tiled floor and shuffled between various people. A few more tried to stop him to ask for things. Unlocking a computer because a moron forgot their password, finding someone a phone number of someone clearly not interested them, and the like. He glanced at the wall's repeating pattern. Upper light panel, then two low-sitting orange guide lights, then a painting. It repeated throughout the entire HQ.

He stopped at a standing water cooler to catch his breath. Proton fumbled with a plastic cup as he tried to fill it with water. It was shot back in a single gulp, and then he crushed the cup in his hand out of frustration.

Nearby grumbling told him he wasn't the only one. Petrel leaned against the wall by some empty boxes. No other Grunts were scrambling around this area as the annoying mass had probably found their way to the common room to yuck it up about the future mission. A sudden urge to connect with his purple-haired colleague rose in Proton's mind.

"Uhh, so Petrel," he started, "what have you got going on?"

Petrel's sunken eyes found him. "Mind your business, kid. Just leave me be and let me have second thoughts in peace."

"So, you're just nervous about going after the Pokémon League? Big deal. You're not special, man," Proton told him.

Petrel grumbled under his breath, kicking at a box with his foot. Proton examined him and noticed that the scoliotic man wore himself like a hotel bellhop. His black uniform had a thin gold trim running up towards his collar on both sides of the chest. However, it was broken up by the white gloves and boots that drew away from the image. "Err, did you say something?" he asked.

"Grrr, fine kid. I hate that we're going after the Pokémon League because it's for the wrong reasons."

Proton wasn't sure what the man meant. He shot back more water with a new cup. Crushing his first was a waste. Proton asked, "What other reason is there? We're going to make money by selling the rare Pokémon we steal. That's our whole purpose, isn't it?"

"You're not looking past appearances, kid," the man scolded. A fitting phrase for a supposed master of disguise. "This isn't about the money. We could get that anywhere. And it's not about the fame either, since we're plenty known underground and it's not worth waking a sleeping Dragon-type."

"Then what is it?"

Petrel sighed. "The Boss is such a fucking hypocrite. You heard her speech in there about not caring and moving on—that's what being a Rocket is all about. The minute you start caring about someone else and letting that affect your decisions, you aren't a Rocket anymore. You're just a typical gangster. But attacking the Pokémon League isn't for the money, and it's not for the fame. It's just so Ariana can woo up Giovanni, wherever he is, to come back."

Giovanni. Proton had seen pictures of the guy and heard everything under the sun about him. A stern-looking dude in a trench coat and hat, right from the fine gentlemen of last century. He was no mercy, no nonsense, and nothing was his goal but wealth and power. That was all secondhand, of course.

Petrel continued talking, running a hand stressfully over his purple hair. "Giovanni left because he didn't think the Syndicate was strong enough with him at the helm. He  _disbanded_  the Rockets to train himself, all 'cause some kid best him in a battle and vowed to start an even grander organization from scratch. He wasn't looking to bring us back because we served our purpose. The man moved on. I respect him because he's not afraid to bury the past and start over. But Ariana, and Archer too, that stuck-up prick, have been trying for so long to call out for Giovanni to come back.  _That's not what we're about._ Ariana doesn't care about the money anymore; she just wants to get her baby daddy back because she didn't even learn the first lesson from him."

"Wait, baby daddy?" Proton did a double take. "Ariana never struck me as someone who'd fool around in her work environment." Though, if what that she-devil said was true about calling Ariana 'Master', maybe she was friskier than she appeared.

"She did, once, and never again. The Boss realized how much trouble  _that_ caused between her and the old Boss. But, as I'm finding out, she never really got past that relationship, and now we're all going to pay for it."

Despite being the newest executive within the Syndicate's ranks, there was still so much Proton didn't understand. A lot had happened in the three years since Giovanni had disappeared and the group was reorganized, and it was further in disarray than he imagined. Still, it was no sweat off of his back, since he had enough money to do whatever he wanted from the Slowpoke Well job alone. "Are you going to do something about it?" he asked.

"Me? Absolutely  _not_ ," the man wheezed. "Ariana would get pissy if I brought it up. She's just like that. Basically, the only thing she and Giovanni had in common was not suffering insubordination. I'll run this as far as it'll go, and then when we inevitably go under, I'll probably find a way to escape. You should too."

Petrel disappeared down the halls, back hunched as always. He issued a small wave towards Proton, whom returned to sipping water to try to calm his nerves. In the time after he'd returned to base, Vampire, or Sird, hadn't appeared. The Boss had instructed him through an online message not to return to base for a few weeks so she could ensure his tracks were covered, so that lady must have already passed through and was on the way to her next assignment. As much as it should have relieved him to know she was probably gone, it only set him more on edge. He'd have to deal with her when she returned—more accurately, she'd deal with him. He downed more water, only to find that the soothing liquid burned his throat on the way down.

* * *

Ciel felt on top of the world as he, Crystal, and Zuki tracked their way below the stadium to return to the stands. They were abuzz with conversation about the recent battles. Zuki came off as surprisingly less reserved than she was before and participated actively in the conversation. Through the walls of the stadium, Ciel heard the director announce for the second round of battles to begin.

"Have you two met?" Ciel posed the question to the girls.

"Just now, but supposedly she had spoken to Silver when he was in the stands," Crystal said.

Right, the Pokémon thief. Ciel had yet to actually  _see_  him, despite she and Gold mentioning that he was now traveling with them. The group tracked their way past groups of people huddled behind the arena, many lining up at food shops hours before the designated lunch time. A sundry aroma of various unhealthy event foods flooded his nostrils, and he couldn't help but think they had the right idea. He shook his head and returned attention to the two girls.

"Say, where did Brent get that Eevee?" he asked Zuki. "Do you know anything about that?"

"I do. I gave it to him."

"You didn't strike me as a Pokémon trainer," Crystal said.

"I'm not. Well, I'm not a trainer in the  _traditional_  sense, however ironic that may be," Zuki explained to them as they walked. "As you know, I'm a Kimono Girl. We've integrated Pokémon partners into our performances for centuries. Our speciality is Eevee, as its multiple evolutions allows us to easily raise a single family but still have a variety of move effects due to its multiple forms. I happened to have an Eevee stored in my personal account and Brent was missing a Pokémon for the tournament, so we rushed to complete that trade."

"Using Pokémon in stage performances must look impressive. I watch Pokémon Contests all the time and those are spectacular, so I assume it's something like that," Crystal said. "Which evolution do you use?"

"Umbreon," Zuki said, pulling an ornament from her hair. She showed the glossy dark pin to the others. "A number of my outfit's decorations are black or gold to represent my partner."

Suddenly, a distinct scream was heard, not of fear but excitement. It was continuous, and it was growing louder. They looked around the hall of the interior, not understanding where it was coming from. A few trainers and spectators also stopped to look. The scream was gradually increasing in volume.

Someone burst through a crowd of people ahead of them, and the screamed word became clear.  _"Lyraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"_ A freakishly tall woman tackled the girl directly off her feet, pulling her into a hug and swinging her around midair.

"Whoa!" Ciel exclaimed as he stepped back.

"Ooooooooh, Lyra, I'm so proud of you! You were so great out there, and that Marill of yours has gotten so strong since I gave it to you!" the woman rattled off.

"Gnnh, Nan!" Crystal made out, though her lungs were being squeezed in the hug. "You're embarrassing us!"

The woman stopped, looked around, noticed that everyone was staring at them, and then dropped Lyra to her feet. Ciel rushed over to stabilize the dazed girl. He also managed to get a good look at the woman, who had to be at least 185 centimeters and was wearing gaudy clothing of neon pinks and blues along with heart-shaped sunglasses. Her hair was tied into two long pigtails that reached her waist. "Hehe, sorry about that, Lyra. Just, like, you were  _so cool_ out there! I can hardly contain myself!"

Crystal caught her breath and referred to the large woman. "Guys, this is my Nan. Sorry that she's… herself."

The woman pulled a Marill plush toy out of a backpack and held it in front of her. "Well, I can't help being such a big fan of my daughter and her Pokémon."

Another woman approached the trainers, this one in contrast being much more modest—in height  _and_  in clothing. She had simple brown hair held by a band and was wearing an apron, for whatever reason. "I really hate how tall you are," she said to the other. "You always manage to outspeed me."

"And this," Crystal said, "is my Mum. Hi Mum!"

"Hey, sweetie. Want to introduce us to your new friends?" the brunette woman asked.

"Uhh, I'm Ciel. Nice to meet you," Ciel said. It was safe to say that Crystal's Nan left him intimidated.

"Zuki Dento. A pleasure," introduced the Kimono girl.

"Well, it's nice to meet the both of you. I'm glad that Lyra's making some friends besides Ethan, especially with how bad of an influence he can be. I'm Emiko, and this is Mirei." She motioned to her taller partner after herself. "We're Lyra's parents."

"We've heard so much about you! Lyra thinks so highly of you, and she, like, says flattering things over text about all her friends," Mirei prattled off, examining Ciel. "Well, this one, anyway. I don't know about the kimono lady much but is this the blond kid you mentioned?" she shot back to her daughter.

Ciel cast his eyes over to Zuki, who seemed almost offended at being brushed off, and then to Crystal. Hearing her given name was confusing him. He shot a her a look, which meant, 'you talk about me to your parents?' The overall-clad girl just shrugged sheepishly.

"Gosh, your fashion needs an update. Top-to-bottom," Mirei remarked as she leaned to and fro, running her hands around Ciel, spinning and orienting him to her liking. "Tees and dark jeans are  _so_ last decade. I would know, I'm a Pokémon Contest manager, so style is my expertise—"

Emiko roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her wife away from Ciel, something he was grateful for. He, Zuki, and Crystal watched awkwardly as the shorter pointed a finger and gave the taller a stern talking-to. Ciel eyed Crystal to the side. Her face was beet-red. She whispered, "just kill me already."

"Excuse me!" shouted Zuki in a sudden, authoritative tone. "Would either of you two happen to know where one could heal Pokémon here? I believe these two need their teams tended to before their next battles."

Emiko collected herself. "Right, of course. There's a Pokémon Center built into the stadium for participants to use, which I believe is this way."

However, as Lyra's parents began leading them toward the Pokémon Center, Ciel stopped. The space within the stadium walls was a large, curved hallway with a second floor accessible by stairway. Along the exterior wall, numerous banners hung, depicting various sporting teams and events that called the stadium their home. Past the banners, he spied two figures standing outside, both with picturesque blonde hair. "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later, okay? I need to ask a question," Ciel said.

"Are you sure? It might be more difficult to get your Pokémon healed once more battles finish," Emiko stated.

"I'll be fine. See you around," Ciel told the group before making his way to the window. He fumbled around, trying to find a door among the multiple tinted panes, until his hand found purchase on a handle. The young trainer swung the door outward and stepped outside into the cool mid-morning air, realizing that the dark color of the windows wasn't just from a tint. Some ominous, heavy clouds were sweeping in, casting the entire sky in shadow.

Ciel felt the perspiration build on his hands as he approached the two people. He was shaking, star-struck, unsure how to go about talking to a literal legend. He sighed to himself. Act natural, he thought.

"Hee~eey!" he called out, immediately broken by a voice crack.

Cynthia Masuta's eyes landed on him. He could feel an oppressive aura close in around him, the judgement of one of the world's most famous people quickly overcoming any and all sense of pride he had left from winning his first-round battle. The world grew even darker, the monolithic figure of this woman blocking out the sky—or was he just imagining it?

"Hey, I know you!" called the younger girl to break the tension. She jogged over and met him halfway. "I caught the last bit of your battle and it was pretty cool. Not very flashy, but that stunt at the end where your Absol knocked that bird Pokémon out of the sky was impressive."

Ciel still felt dazed, and only managed a shy, "thanks."

"You know this boy?" Cynthia asked. Ciel felt the idol paralysis sinking in again, and he could barely turn his head to look at her.

"Yeah. His name's Ciel, I think. He and his friends were heckling me about Zara earlier," she said, causing Cynthia to cross her arms. "Well, heckling in a good way. It was kind of flattering."

Ciel underwent a rattling examination. The platinum-haired Champion shifted her eyes up and down before giving a small smile. A soft expression juxtaposed a face of hardened experience. "I can't say for sure, but you seem nice enough."

His last breath escaped him. He'd just been complimented by arguably the strongest trainer on the entire planet. His entire past, present, and future flashed before his eyes, and he was certain that if he fell over and died right there, it would be without regret. Cynthia snapped in front of his face and it broke him from the spell.

"It's an… honor to meet you, ma'am," he managed. "I didn't know Kris was your daughter."

"Oh, no, the honor's all mine. Really. It gets boring sometimes when the only two reactions people have when I'm in the room are fear or rabid fanboyism. You seem to be leaning towards the middle." The woman brushed her excessively long hair behind herself to clear her view. "And, yes, both of my kids are in the tournament this weekend. My husband and I were basically forced to attend, so we decided to bring them along for a family outing."

Christina Masuta and Sebastian Masuta were the children of Lance and Cynthia. What if he had to face either of them later in the tournament? Sure, he had help training from his mother, but  _their_  parents were universally considered  _the best_. He tried not to think about it. "Miss, err, Mrs. Masuta, could I ask you something?"

"Sure. I'm not doing anything now, though I do need to find my husband soon." She noticed his hesitation and added, "out with it."

"C-could I ask you alone? No offense to you, Kris."

She feigned offense. "You harm me, Ciel. Well, we might face off in the tournament, so I'll be seeing you around," the sandy-blonde girl made off inside the stadium, wishing the two of them a goodbye.

And he stood there. Granted a one-in-a-million opportunity to speak with a legendary Pokémon Trainer, he had so many questions he wanted to ask. Most of them them were about himself, how he could become a great Pokémon trainer like them. Cynthia tapped her foot. There was gossip, rumors, floating information about her and Lance, especially about their roles within the Pokémon League and under its CEO. She tapped faster. He had no idea what he wanted to ask, and he didn't actually have anything in mind when he stepped outside.

"Kid!" Cynthia shouted.

" _What do you know about the Ruins of Alph?"_  he forced out quickly.

It had been a while since he, Crystal, Brent, and Gold decided to venture to the ruins on the outskirts of Violet. In all honesty, he'd barely remembered traveling down there. The imagery in his head was jumbled. He wasn't sure it was even real, even though dislocating his arm and dragging himself through the underground catacombs had felt it.

The woman was taken aback, but she collected herself. "That's a bit of a loaded question. Ciel, was it? I'm an archaeologist and mythologist by trade, so it's one of many places around the world I, and my team, have been interested in. Is there anything specific about it?"

"I saw someone inside," he told the older woman. "I fell inside the ruins, I think, and I saw a man who was talking to himself about the readings inside. But people said no one had managed to decipher the language or really know what culture the ruins came from, right?"

She paused to consider his statement, and he watched expressions flash across her face. She seemed so youthful, but looking at her clearly, the Champion was marked by the wear and tear of age. "Have you told anyone else?" she asked. He said no. There was confusion, then inquisition, then reservation, before she finally said, "am I able to trust you? My daughter seemed to like you enough."

He didn't know how to respond to that, but he didn't want to disappoint the Champion of Sinnoh. "Yes."

"The truth is that I  _do_  understand the Unown language, or at least some of it. My husband—Lance—knows more about it than I do, ironically, because his Dragon Clan in Blackthorne has some connecting history with the ruins. He hasn't explained it to me. All he asked was that I keep information about the ruins and a few other specific places under wraps, so I pulled some strings to do so. He thought it was important, so I'll think it's important too."

"Why tell me this, though?" Ciel asked her. It's not that he couldn't keep a secret, but if it was supposed to be secret, why spread it further?

"According to my husband, the less people know about it, the better. But, if you've already seen the interior of the ruins by accident, I hope that giving you context will make you less likely to tell others about it. A little over a month ago, there was a scheduling error among the staff at the Ruins of Alph and suddenly no one was staffed to keep it guarded for an entire day. I'm afraid someone might be meddling where they aren't supposed to."

Ciel swallowed the lump in his throat. In knowing that something suspicious was going on, he wasn't sure what to make of the mysterious man's rant in that dark room. "I won't tell anyone, Mrs. Masuta," Ciel said with as much confidence as he could muster.

She smiled at him once again. "I'm trusting you to keep that promise, got it?" At that moment, something began ringing, and Cynthia fished a cell phone out of the pocket of her black coat. "I have to take this, so you take care of yourself."

The Champion made her way in the same direction her daughter took. "Cassius, Cassius, please calm down. He heard her say into the phone, "I know you found something interesting, but there's no need to freak."

Ciel was left alone outside the stadium, but as soon as he remembered the dark clouds rolling in, he too decided to step back inside. He needed to heal his team and find his mother and sister to be prepared for the second round, whenever that began. And he was missing Brent's battle! He'd gotten so side-tracked, he almost forgot. Ciel bolted down the curved connection room inside the stadium, hoping to make up the time he'd lost.

* * *

Gold blinked. Gold's jaw dropped open. Gold pointed.

"You copied me!" he shouted.

In front of him, ready before the opposing trainer, was a Chikorita. And on his side was a Chikorita. Marigold was facing an imposter, and he wouldn't stand for it!

The trainer in question, Participant 91, told him his name before the battle began, which Gold promptly forgot. What he  _did_  know was that he was a science kid. Consisting of an actual, no joke lab coat and a pair of goggles, his proper protective equipment wasn't necessary for a sanctioned Pokémon battle. His hair, while wrapped in a hair net, was a bright purple.

Gold distracted himself as he breathed in the magnitude of the sporting event. Ten-thousand people in the audience cheered him on in his escapades. Well, probably not him specifically, but still. It warmed him up inside to know he was putting on a good show. Nearly every golden seat in the stands was taken, and even more people were watching from their feet in the rows closer to the battlefields. His view found purchase on Crystal, her family, and the grumpy tall guy who was tagging along. He waved and shouted, trying to get her attention.

"She cannot hear you, you know," said the science boy across the arena in a condescending tone. The kind of condescending where you don't know that you're being condescending, but everyone hates you anyway. "These barriers dissipate sound to give us the most focused battle experience possible, while live monitors enhance each battle and broadcast our battle orders."

"Don't have to tell me. I just know my friends will get a laugh at it." Gold turned back to his opponent and once again pointed an accusing finger directly at the enemy Chikorita. "Now, why does your Chikorita look so much different than mine?"

Gold examined the imitator who growled at Marigold on the battlefield. His partner stood ready with her leaf surrounded by green phosphorescence, while the other exuded just as much intellectual confidence as its trainer. The opponent Pokémon had a lighter, more bluish shade of green than his own, and not only was its head leaf larger, the object was also decorated with spikes around its edge. Scary!

The science guy pushed his glasses upwards on his face. The same kind of energy held by Professor Elm radiated off the boy. "You see, Pokémon display morphological differences based on a variety of factors. Sometimes, the expressed traits are the result of need for camouflage in a specific environment, while other times it is caused by selective breeding on part of humans. This means that every Pokémon species has one or more sub-species with slightly altered physical traits to allow for better survival in numerous environments. For example, my Chikorita, whom I have named Hikensha, has much in common with coniferous trees in the northern latitudes that I hail from. Those rounded points around his neck sprout into cones come summer, which can be used both for territory marking and for sexual reproduction."

Meanwhile, Gold had pulled out a notepad and pencil that he'd conveniently stored in his jacket. It was another minute into the science guy's rant before he finally noticed Gold's notetaking and asked, "what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Gold looked up. "No, keep going. You're better than all my high school biology teachers combined. You actually  _teach_ things."

"I'll take the first move," called the science guy. "Hikensha, use Razor Leaf twice, five second intervals. Fire at twelve o'clock."

The opponent Chikorita whipped a projectile from its head leaf in their direction. Gold was about to call his partner to dodge, only for both trainers to watch the Razor Leaf fly directly over Marigold's head. Science guy had forgotten to mention that his Chikorita had proportionally longer legs, and Gold had forgotten to mention that he did not have a type resistance to Grass. The crescent struck his stomach and dissipated. A shallow cut appeared through his torn shirt.

Gold let out a groan but kept to his feet. "Now, let me tell you," he stated, matter-of-factly, "that never gets any less painful."

The referee raised a red flag high. "Participant 94, you have one warning! Another attack directly on the opposing trainer will leave you disqualified!"

However, the second projectile was already flying per science guy's orders, and Gold could only mouth an "oh no" before it too smacked him in the abdomen. He fell, landed on his back, and lied gasping for breath. He put one finger to the sky. "I have fallen and I can't get up! Where's my button to call emergency services?"

The referee did a double take, unsure of how to process the situation. "Uhh, p-participant 94 is disqualified! Participant 91 is the victor!"

"I appear to have made a slight miscalculation," said the science guy. From the floor, Gold could see the energy barriers dropping in his periphery and the coat-wearing trainer retreating from the battlefield.

Marigold trotted beside his head and nuzzled his head. He felt comforted by his partner's care for his wellbeing, but he also felt the need to scold her. "This doesn't put you off the hook for every time that you've misfired at me, young lady." Regardless, he grabbed her and hoisted her up high, his enthusiasm matched by her own cheerful squeaks. "We won! We won! Now, if anyone is willing, I think I need medical attention!"

* * *

Ciel found his way to the upstairs after asking a tournament staff member how to find the club seats. The interior of the stadium was unfortunately more convoluted than he initially thought, so it took a few minutes to find where he needed to go. As he made his way through the tunnel outside, he noticed a person standing to his left, leaning against the wall. He kept walking. The entire tunnel was cast in shadow by the cloud cover blocking the daylight.

"Please, come back," commanded Daku. Ciel was irritated by the tone.

Ciel stopped in his tracks but didn't backpedal. "Why should I? I've ignored you for years. I can last a few more minutes  _not_ speaking to you."

"Please, come back," he repeated, but this time it wasn't a fatherly order. It was a tired request, and for some reason, Ciel felt inclined to oblige it.

He turned from his position and walked towards the man by the wall. He stared. Sometimes it annoyed him how much of his appearance came from his father rather than his mother; blond hair and green eyes were both father and son's defining characteristics, but Ciel just happened to inherit his mother's softer, rounder facial structure. Ciel's eyes bore into him. "What do you want?" he asked. The young trainer hoped his lack of amusement was apparent.

"Stop looking at me like that. I'm trying to build a bridge here," his father retorted. Every brief exchange the two had was meaningless banter.

"What are you going to do this time? Take me to the amusement park and give nothing but small talk the entire time. Do you want to repeat the most uncomfortable moments of my life?"

"Could you stop pointing out things I've done wrong while I'm trying to do something right?" his gruff voice bargained. Ciel could almost hear a lump in his throat, like he was having an allergic reaction. Or was it something else? "I get it! I'm a dumbass and I'm in the wrong? Happy?"

"No, I'm not," Ciel said as he began to walk away. "If you don't have anything important to say, I'm going to find Mom and Laina to watch the rest of the matches."

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Ciel heard something he'd never heard before. Was that an apology? Quickly, he returned to standing face-to-face with his father, intent on milking it for all it was worth. "Excuse me, what did you just say?" he asked, sarcastically. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I said, I'm sorry," Daku repeated, louder.

Music to his ears! A short phrase with multiple meanings, but one he couldn't once recall ever coming out of his father's mouth. Daku never actually apologized. He just dodged problems, acted like they never happened, and hid behind his wife to do the talking. Ciel put a hand up to his ear to funnel the sound better. Was he being obnoxious? If he was, he didn't care.

His father became angrier by the second. Daku's shadow grew as the fury surrounded him, and Ciel took a step back. As quickly as it came, though, it vanished, and his father decompressed. He leaned back against the wall. "This has to stop. For both of us."

Ciel was forced some recollection. When was the last time he spoke to his father? Truly spoke? He left two months prior from Mahogany, but before then, he cast his mind back a week, a month, half a year, almost a full year. On the rare occasion that his mother arranged a family dinner, they all knew to expect a room of silence. Whenever they stood in the same room, they refused to communicate, resorting to annoyed grimaces at each other, just like they'd done in the tournament so far. Ciel never tried to speak with Daku, nor Daku to Ciel, and he believed that both of them were fine leaving it at that.

"I want to…" He paused, before reiterating. "I want to, for once, to be able to genuinely talk to you and hopefully work something out between us. No insults, no standoff remarks. I know you're going your own way and you don't want to have to deal with me now, but we both need this."

"Did Mom put you up to this?" Ciel asked.

"What? No, I— well, sort of. I spoke to her the other day and she recommended that I do this, but she's not forcing me to do anything."

Ciel glanced over at the exit to the tunnel. As the crowd roared and murmured in an undulating fashion, he knew he was missing the battles of two of his friends. At that very moment, they must have been well into their bouts already. However, Ciel had confidence that the both of them could pass through the first round.

The young trainer sat cross-legged on the floor in front of his father. "What do you want to talk about?

"I know why you've always hated me. I was angry all the time because of my job, I yelled through every conversation, and seven years ago, I hit your sister. I barely even remember doing it because I'd been drinking, but I apologized to her the next morning over and over and over."

Ciel felt his skin heat up at the mention. He forced himself to cool off with a loud breath. He asked his father, "why doesn't she hate you? She has every right to."

He shook his head profusely. "I don't know. I don't know. Maybe she was too young to remember. I'm glad she doesn't, but it doesn't make it right."

Daku didn't pause to let him digest. "You've grown up thinking poorly of me because I've never made a reasonable attempt to convince you otherwise. I've gone through a lot to try to change from the person I was then, and I won't say I'm entirely there yet. If I was, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But I want you to know that I've become a better person, and I'm asking for your permission to recognize that. Will you accept my apology?"

"No." Ciel spoke his answer resolutely.

His father was stunned, paralyzed. Ciel could tell by his expression that he wished to ask why.

"I don't accept your apology," he told the man. "I've thought of you as good-for-nothing for years. It's not so easy to say 'sorry' and make up. You have a long way to go before I'm ready to do that. I won't forgive you," Ciel paused, "but I think I believe in second chances. I want to see that you're ready, that we're  _both_  ready, to move on from this part of our lives."

A very slight, tired smile curled across his father's face. "Your mother was right. When did you grow up so fast?"

"Are we done here? I want to go watch my friends' battles."

His father said nothing but nodded his head in the direction of the exit. With his back turned away from the man, Ciel stood tall and walked as confidently as he knew. He'd come far from who he was in high school, and he wanted his father to know that if only to proceed his superiority. Daku spoke softly behind him. "I'll be trying my best. I'll call you later, Ciel."

As those words echoed through his head, he realized that he'd been held back further than he thought. An unknown agitation shook him. His confidence cracked and left him feeling scared inside. He wasn't in danger; he wasn't even angry. Ciel recognized already that his father wasn't the same person he was then, but he couldn't—wouldn't—accept it. He didn't know if he could move on from something he'd intimately felt for so long, something so familiar to his person. It was a mark of immaturity to hold on to it.

He took his place next to his mother and sister when he found access to the V.I.P. seats. Both were happy to see him, but unfortunately, he'd completely missed Gold's battle. The end of Brent's own first-round match was approaching. He focused on his friend for the time being, trying to ignore some conflicting thoughts.

* * *

Brent found himself locked in a stare-down. His Magikarp versus the opponent's Machop. The latter Pokémon held ready fists in front of its humanoid body. The three fins on its head flared outward with each flex of its muscles. He could feel the energy exuded by the small yet fit creature and hoped that his Water-type had enough stamina left to match.

The battle had lasted for about fifteen minutes and he was already exhausted a Pokémon. His Sentret, whom he opened the battle with full force, lasted him through his opponent's first and well into her second before he was forced to pull the creature from the battle to prevent injury. Magikarp wasn't faring much better. Brent was nearly ready to declare him unfit for battle as well.

"Machop, break's over. Are you ready to get back into it?" shouted the girl across the arena. Her level of fitness was astounding. Shown off through a crop-top and exercise shorts were an impressive set of abs and toned muscle structures in her thighs and upper arms. The only thing more representative of her outward vigor was her hair, which sprouted wild and free from her head, spiked in all directions in the front and tied into a barely contained ponytail in the back.

Participant 83, who had introduced herself simply as Keiko, let a punch fly. Then she kicked, adjusting her footwork. She let loose numerous other practiced moves and the Machop followed her every move in complete synchronization without having to turn around. Both figures planted their front feet on the ground before them, angling their back legs and feet for optimal stability, and let out impressive battle cries.

"Use Focus Energy!" she shouted. The Machop flexed every muscle in its body, surrounding itself in a glow and highlighting its silhouette amongst the darkening atmosphere.

"Magikarp, use Tackle to counter!" commanded Brent.

His strategy with Magikarp was simple: use momentum to their advantage. His Water-type bounced once, then twice, then three times, slowly pushing forward by angling the direction of its impact with the ground. As it completed its third hop, it powered all its energy into one final hop, tossing itself in the direction of the focusing opponent.

The Machop broke from its focus, and not wanting to be slapped in the face by 10 kilograms of fish meat, brought down its hand. "Use Karate Chop!" shouted its trainer after the attack had already commenced. The chop slammed his Magikarp into the floor of the arena.

"Flail!" Brent called, not missing a beat.

Flail was less a move and more a natural extension of Magikarp's out-of-water state. When in a desperate situation, it wiggled, vibrated, and swung its body with all its energy in any direction possible to solve the problem. It smacked the Machop's legs with its tail and then bounced upward to impact the short creature in the stomach. The Machop staggered.

Keiko threw an air punch powerfully enough that Brent swore he could sense the vibrations. She shouted, "grapple and use Seismic Toss!"

Despite the flailing of the creature before it, her Machop wrapped its arms around the Water-type and pushed off hard with its feet. It leaped into the air with the Magikarp locked in its grip and began to spin. It built up momentum with each rotation, before finally transferring momentum into its swing and tossing Brent's Magikarp to the floor of the arena.

He decided not to call another attack, seeing that his Pokémon was struggling to move from the impact. After the Machop landed adeptly on the ground, he exchanged a taciturn confirmation with the referee, who stuck out a yellow flag and announced that the Magikarp was unable to continue.

Brent held out a Poké Ball and tried to steady his breathing as the red beam retracted the creature into stasis. Luckily, neither Pokémon he used sustained any serious injuries and would likely just be able to rest for a few days to recover their strength. They could lounge and enjoy Goldenrod after the tournament concluded.

It was time to try out the newest member of his team. It was a gift from Zuki that he'd cherish forever, and right now he needed it, or rather her, to finish the fight. "Eevee, standby for battle," Brent announced. He unleashed it to the field. It let out its own battle cry, a smooth, high-pitched howl with a sound similar to its own name.

He hadn't spent very long bonding with his new teammate, but as he shouted his first battle order, he could feel the connection growing. The easiest way for a trainer and Pokémon to bond was through battle. A joint exercise of physical exertion and mental flow, where the true core of all beings involved was displayed proudly. "Tackle!"

His Eevee charged across the arena in an attempt to headbutt its opponent. Keiko's Machop brought up its arms in a cross and met the Eevee head-on. However, not sparing any moment, the furred, brown creature pressed her tail into the ground to prop herself over the block. Brent barely had time to direct in the quick exchange. "Use Tail Whip!" His Pokémon whipped her body around and smacked her tail across the Machop's face before bounding a safe distance away.

"Machop, are you alright?" Keiko asked in concern. Her Pokémon reared back and sneezed, obviously irritated by the fibers. It shivered.

"Eevee, don't let up. Use Tackle again!" Brent called. He hoped that Tail Whip, even if it technically wasn't used for its intended effect, would still lower its defenses.

Eevee once again charged across the battlefield. He knew Keiko and her Pokémon would be expecting their attack, so he needed to change things up. They needed to fire faster than their opponents could react. As Eevee neared in, he waited for the perfect moment.

"Use Karate Chop to knock it down," Keiko shouted at her Pokémon. "You have the advantage!"

"Switch to Quick Attack!" he commanded his Pokémon.

As the Machop reared back its strike, his Eevee shot from her run into a lightning-sprint. With all energy focused into her back legs, she crossed the remainder of the distance in an instant and struck the Machop in the gut before it could bring down its chop. Staggering backwards, it sneezed a second time, before collapsing onto its back.

Brent and Eevee waited in anticipation. He wondered if they needed a ten count as they waited for the Fighting-type Pokémon to make it to its feet. The referee waved his blue flag to signal his ruling. "Participant 84's Pokémon is unable to battle, meaning that Participant 1 is the victor!"

"Yeah!" Brent exclaimed. His Pokémon ran up to him and jumped into his arms. If this wasn't a successful test of his new team member's battle prowess, he didn't know what was. Zuki had him going by saying that they only raised Eevee for dance purposes.

Met Keiko to shake hands. He could feel muscle and calluses in her hand as he shook, and the two acknowledged the battle. Reaching into his bag, Brent withdrew a few potions and offered them to the girl to help her Pokémon get a little strength back. Items weren't allowed in most sanctioned battles, but they never said anything about after the battle concluded. The martial artist graciously thanked him for the help and took a dignified leave from the stage.

Brent retreated from the battlefield himself to find his friend group, whom had already gathered in the stadium interior by the exit nearest his platform. Ciel and Zuki greeted him first, followed by Lyra and Ethan, whom he'd first met in Violet. Also with them was a tall person in a hoodie whom he didn't recognize, two women whom Lyra introduced as her parents, and Ciel's mother and sister. Everyone else had already met everyone else.

"Hey, nice work out there!" congratulated Ciel. He seemed more shaken than usual, for some reason. "I did miss most of your battle, though. Sorry about that."

"No, don't worry about it," he conceded.

"You won despite the type advantage at the end there," said Crystal. She and Ethan had begun going by nicknames. "That's pretty impressive."

"Hey, if we're all done, can we go eat? I'm  _starving_ , guys!" Gold whined.

"I know a nice restaurant near here we could try," announced Ciel's mother, "but we should probably get going before it gets packed. Luckily, all of you finished within the first two sets of the round."

"All in favor?" asked one of Crystal's parents, the one with brown hair.

"Aye!" they all shouted in unison, before heading off from the stadium. Brent couldn't believe in hindsight how he'd gotten mixed up with such a lively group of friends. I hope you're watching, Brent thought to himself, imagining his mother in front of the TV. Everything he did was for her, and this was no exception.

* * *

Ciel felt fuller than a Swalot. The restaurant they found, a fancy ramen noodle house, was one he and his family frequented on the weekends back when they lived in the city. The food was just as filling as always, leaving him glad that not much had changed.

The group exchanged continuous conversation the entire time they had their seats. Since each battle set lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes and they left at noon after getting everyone's Pokémon healed, Emiko suggested that they had at least two hours until the second round began, including the actual lunch period. The only one not in attendance was his father.

Each of the trainers scarfed down bowls of noodles and shared even more food, courtesy of Mirei's trigger-happy spending, with their Pokémon. The noodle house wasn't excessively small, but it certainly became packed once each trainer's Pokémon was released inside the parlor. Gold explained how his battle had played-out, or rather didn't, eliciting a round of laughter. Ciel eyed the person in the hoodie, whom he assumed to be Silver, the Pokémon thief, but didn't pay him any mind. If Gold and Crystal said he was fine, he'd take their word.

Despite the large group, nothing truly noteworthy happened in the outing, and before Ciel knew it they were rushing back to the arena to make the beginning of the second round at 2:00 PM sharp. Ciel, with Gold, Crystal, and Brent at his side, jogged and waved through the interior of the arena to make it to the ground-floor center just as Director Ryokuna stepped to her pedestal. A slight drizzle began.

She commenced the next round. "The second round will consist of thirty-two battles in sets of eight, similar to the previous round. The same rules apply so I won't repeat myself, and if you need a refresher, you can refer to the audio record of your own memory," she stated.

Once again, she rolled out sixteen participant numbers. Surprisingly, Ciel found himself in the first set for the second time, though none of his friend's numbers were called. His opponent was Participant 41, and he made his way to the stage with Raven at his feet. He wished goodbye to his friends and his family, hugging his sister before he walked out among the light rain onto the battlefield.

He waited patiently for the opponent to appear. Participant 41, according to a jumbotron in his view, had participated in the second set. He'd missed the battle while speaking with his father, so he had no idea who he was facing. The rain was beginning to pick up slightly. It fell softly against his hair and face.

A head of bright pink ascended the steps.

"W-Whitney?" he asked in shock. Raven growled at the girl as she appeared. His Absol could sense the warrior within. The energy barriers raised after she entered the battlefield, blocking out the sound. Only the rain persisted, falling through the opening atop the glowing, transparent walls.

The young Gym Leader flashed a wide grin. "That's me! Nice to see you too, guy. You annoyed me at school, didn't you?"

He felt embarrassed at the accusation. 'Yeah, that's me. Wait, you just said you were attending with the other Gym Leaders.  _You're participating_?"

"I never said specifically what I was doing here. It was a strategic lie of omission," she shrugged, grinning again. There's nothing that says Gym Leaders  _can't_  participate, just that the tournament has an age-limit of twenty. Nineteen here," she said while pointing to herself with a thumb.

His thoughts were still jumbled from the conversation with his father, but now a new nervousness ran through his head. Gym Leaders were in the ninetieth percentile of trainers. There was no way he could beat her! He'd be knocked out of the tournament for sure. He knew she used Normal-types, but none of his Pokémon had Fighting-type moves, the only things known to be super-effective in battle against them.

"Hey. Hey!" the pink-haired trainer called, snapping him out of it. "I got a question."

"Uhh, shoot," he offered.

"How about we raise the stakes on this battle?" she asked with a sly expression. "Wanna add a little bit of excitement to this tournament?"

"You don't mean—" he cut himself off.

"Oh yeah, I _do_ mean. As long as a referee is present, a Gym Leader has the ability to declare any battle a Gym Battle with a badge on the line."

"You said you didn't want to do any work on your week off. Why the change of heart now, and why participate anyway?"

"You see, Participant 123," Whitney teased, "just because I'm battling doesn't mean it's work. I love battling! But you know what I like  _more_ than battling?"

He was hesitant to ask. "What?"

She raised a hand to the sky. "Making a scene." She snapped her fingers, the sound echoing under the increasing rain.  _"Hit it!"_

Suddenly, the energy barriers dropped around them, and the sound of both the crowd and the rain returned full force. Around him, none of the other barriers were raised, making it clear that no other battle would begin. Whitney had planned for this, arranged it somehow, and now all eyes were on them. The thousands in the crowd had withdrawn umbrellas but none seemed inclined to leave.

The referee handed Whitney a microphone before retreating back to the side of the arena. The entire stadium grew quiet as he waited for the order.

"With the power vested in me by the Indigo League as the Gym Leader of Goldenrod,"shouted Whitney through the microphone, bringing down her raised hand in a point, "let the battle for the Plain Badge begin!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This chapter was an absolute monster, and it's the first one I've actually written in a single week, not counting the first few I posted here which were already completed when I began. I'm both insanely proud of myself as well as glad that my readers could get more content so soon.**
> 
> **I was able to get back to a lot of plot-relevant stuff this chapter. I'm almost afraid that the flipping between battles and serious drama would create a mood whiplash, but I'm confident with it. There are a lot of scenes within this chapter that I was super excited to write and had been mentally running over for a while, so it's a bit of catharsis to be able to finally put it to paper (or keyboard, as it were).**
> 
> **Next chapter, the cast moves on into the second and third rounds. Come back next time for Chapter 15: Psychosis. See you next time!**


	15. Psychosis

The image of his father's face flashed in his mind. He tried to ignore the flash, only for it to be plastered inside his eyelids with every blink. The outing at the restaurant with his family and friends was supposed to clear his mind.

By the time a fraction of his focus returned, Whitney's attack had already connected on his side of the field. A powerful Thunderbolt from her Clefairy pierced Raven's shoulder. An active current crackled through her body, causing brilliant jolts to gleam as they reflected between hundreds of raindrops.

"What's wrong, Ciel?" taunted the Gym Leader. "You seemed pretty on top of things during your previous battle. I want to see some  _fire."_

His eyes landed on his partner, who despite taking the attack directly refused to fall from her feet. Seeing her in pain cut through the fog in his head. "Use Quick Attack!" he ordered

Though her movements were noticeably slower, she still managed an impressive speed to bridge the gap. In moments she was upon the pink creature. The Gym Leader called for her Pokémon to dodge, but she wasn't quick enough to anticipate Raven's speed even after the Paralysis. A clawed paw raked across thw Clefairy's side.

The flash reappeared, the fog closed, and Ciel hesitated once again. He could only make one decision soundly. "Retreat, Raven. Back to me."

A few backhops placed partners side-by-side and Ciel could feel Raven's plea for his command. She could fight well enough on her own, but she needed them both to coordinate if Whitney was facing them. Raven knew the caliber of opponent they were facing the second the Gym Leader took the stage.

Whitney reared her head back and drunk in the cascading afternoon. Gross. She shot back a mouthful of rainwater before returning her attention to him, saying, "It's a good day for a swell battle, wouldn't you say? Now, come on! I'm waiting for you to make another move."

But, how could he? Ciel searched the stands. Almost everyone in attendance sat in anticipation of something truly spectacular, something he wasn't certain he could provide. His eyes landed on Pryce, the one who encouraged him to begin. His mother, who had trained him prior and sent him on his way. Laina, the one whose smile he believed he was fighting for. And then his father.

"Raven, use—" He halted. His father's face stopped him once again.

Whitney just shrugged to herself. "Oh well. If you won't, then I will! Since we slowed it down, I think you can pull out the big guns, Clefairy. Moonblast!"

It was Fairy-type. That was bad. Really bad. One hit and Raven was toast, especially after taking a direct Thunderbolt. Not only was it super-effective, Whitney's attacks were also far more advanced than ones his Pokémon were capable of. The experience gap between both parties was like peering across a canyon.

Whitney's Clefairy glowed to match a radiant orb forming overhead the battlefield. The crowd collectively gasped at its appearance. Once again, the overcast day was broken by a new source of light—the moonlight was powerful enough that Ciel needed to squint.

The gears were turning, and rather than calling an attack, Ciel decided that he needed to use Type matchups to his advantage. He announced, "Raven, switch!"

He fumbled with two Poké Balls and pressed both buttons simultaneously. Raven's beam whisked her from the battlefield just as the other neon red light formed a new shape on the battlefield. Whitney's Clefairy moved its arms in enchanting circles, indicating that the attack was coming. Arden formed completely on the battlefield. He let out a battle cry in face of the oncoming attack while his color faded into reality.

The Moonblast engulfed Arden completely. The only trace of the rodent was a surprised squeal within the ball of light. The orb nearly exploded, and once the light faded, Arden stood strong on the battlefield, hurt but unmoved. It was against the rules to switch explicitly to avoid an attack, but competitive trainers often intercepted attacks to take advantage of type resistances.

"Oh, boo hoo," sounded Whitney, rubbing her eyes in a fake cry. "I know I shouldn't expect you to take a shot like that laying down, but you're no fun, you know?"

Ciel held out a hand. It immediately filled with water, confirming his suspicion that the rain was increasing. Arden's flames flickered under the pressure. However, Ciel couldn't think of a better solution—Clovis's size wouldn't do him any favors against the downpour.

"Try Ember," shouted Ciel, needing to feel out the situation. His Pokémon fired his signature projectile, and though it flew further than he expected, it disintegrated shortly before reaching the Clefairy. A different tactic, then. "Scratch!"

"Use Double Slap to keep it away," Whitney ordered shortly before the parties collided.

The Clefairy delivered one slap, but Arden sensed the move before impact and managed to duck directly under, retaliating with a scratch across the round creature's stomach. Both Pokémon and trainer saw the second slap coming, this one aiming lower.

"Jump forward and ignite!" he ordered his Pokémon.

Arden leaped from a standing position and flipped his entire body during the jump. Ciel mentally projected the position and watched as it fell into place. Mid-way into the jump, Arden was directly overhead, backside down. With the same strategy they used against Westwood, Arden fired all cylinders, and a wave of flame washed over the Clefairy's body.

Whitney grinned. She ordered, "Wake-up Slap."

As Arden landed on the opposite side between the opponent and its trainer, Whitney's Clefairy swung its limb through the residual flames and caught Arden upside the head. The attack sent him sprawling and Ciel realized that the flames hardly damaged her Pokémon at all. In a tense staredown, Arden made his way back to Ciel's side of the arena, eyes locked with Clefairy while neither party called out an attack.

Words died in his throat again with Ciel's next attack. Rather than capitalizing on the moment of hesitation, Whitney spoke up, holding up the microphone she'd been given. Drops of rain on the object interfered with the audio. "What gives? You seem off this battle. Half of the time you're all over it, the other half you're like a Stantler in headlights."

Ciel's eyes drifted to the edge of the platform as he debated whether to answer. The lack of barriers meant that anything he said could be picked up by the tournament authorities. Whitney wanted a scene, and no doubt everyone in the audience was looking for a good show. However, they were at the back of his mind. They weren't the reason he was watching his words.

A chill ran up Ciel's spine with a fallen raindrop. "Everyone's a trainer for a reason, right?" he asked the Gym Leader.

"Well, sure. I'm in it for myself. There's nothing more fun than looking at myself in the mirror and realizing I wasn't the person I was yesterday. It gets my blood pumping."

"What if your reason isn't what you thought it was? What then?" he asked.

She didn't answer but eyed him with a knowing glance. "Is that it? No one ever said it was easy. You're gonna question yourself along the way, your view is gonna change, and you're bound to come out a different person. You and your Pokémon both. Sometimes, you're gonna suddenly reinvent yourself in the middle of battle."

Reinvention? Is that what he wanted? He was doing this for his family and his friends, because the kid who stood between his sister and his father was all he'd been growing up. Protecting those he cared for became his goal because of his father, but if his father wasn't even the person he'd been led to believe, then every battle order he gave would die in his throat.

"Clefairy, hit them with another Thunderbolt. That should get them going," she said to her current partner.

Her Clefairy puffed out its cheeks, twirled its arms, and focused. Flashes of electricity jumped backwards and forwards between its limbs. The sparks pooled in a ball between the tips of its fingers, crackling, sparkling, thundering. Even in his lack of focus, however, Ciel was able to spy a jerky movement on its right side as it prepared to unleash the Thunderbt.

Whitney was right. A spark ran through the back of his brain like a fight or flight response, and he called, "dodge right, now!"

His Pokémon curled and rolled right shortly before another bolt of pure energy danced from the Clefairy's hands onto their side of the field in a split-second. Ciel himself sidestepped in the same direction to prevent being hit by the bolt; as much as he'd enjoy an easy win like Gold had received, as the radiating energy shot past him and dissipated, he felt like not being hospitalized was the correct choice. A few hairs on his arm stood on end.

"Clefairy, are you alright?" the Gym Leader asked her Pokémon. "You looked like you weren't able to aim right there."

A burn on its right shoulder prevented it from moving its arm fully without some pain. Arden's large flame attack had left him a gift and given him a further advantage. Whitney began to call another attack, and he couldn't reason why she'd refuse to switch like he had. Was she expecting something?

"Arden, I need you to melee again," he shouted. "Get in close and get off as many scratches as you can.

His Cyndaquil tracked through the rain and was upon its opponent again. A similar exchange occurred as before, Arden trying to avoid oncoming slaps while trading scratch blows. It wasn't flashy, but it wasn't supposed to be.

He spied the boundaries of the arena, once again aware that the barriers were down. The raised platform would be easy to fall off if neither were careful, but Whitney hadn't brought attention to it. Suddenly, something Falkner had said to him struck his mind. _"That's a clever trick, Ciel. But realize that I've fought more Cyndaquils that most people will see in a lifetime."_

"Arden, back to me again," he ordered amongst the melee.

His Cyndaquil hopped over one more slap and delivered a scratch across the Clefairy's ear in their final exchange. Arden retreated to Ciel; this time, he was accompanied by a collective boo from the audience. The Director issued an angered "shush" through the microphone, but Ciel understood: their hit-and-run was getting boring.

He looked down at his partner. His flames were beginning to flicker as he exhausted himself. They only had one shot at his plan before he'd need to be removed from battle. "Defense Curl," he commanded.

"Don't tell me you're going on the defensive again. If you're still held up about your motivation and whatever, you need to jump yourself in the action regardless and figure it out later. If you hesitate now," she broadcast into the microphone, "you won't suddenly find your energy just lounging around."

Ciel could swore he saw Pryce's face pinned over the younger Gym Leader. Deja vu. His Cyndaquil minimized its presence and waited for the order.

She knew it was coming, judging by her face. "Dodge whatever it does, Clefairy. This is going to be dangerous!"

"Flame Wheel!" shouted Ciel.

Just as they practiced, a flaming ball rocketed across the floor of the arena. Arden's flames maintained in the rain and throughout his movement, and he closed the distance between himself and his opponent. Whether or not he could properly aim after he fired wasn't a concern. Whitney's Clefairy tried to move out of the way. Its shoulder burn and exhaustion made it a slow and easy target.

Arden slammed his entire, torched body into his opponent. Every ounce of momentum he'd built up as a wheel was immediately transferred into the other form by contact. Whitney's Clefairy flew far, past its own trainer, past the edge of the arena, and onto the ground below.

With a yellow flag, the referee announced, "The Gym Leader's Pokémon is defeated via ring-out! Gym Leader, please send in your next Pokémon."

The Gym Leader was interrupted, however, by Arden's body being consumed by an encompassing, radiant glow.

A sheer brilliance touched every corner of the arena, reflecting and bouncing among droplets of rain. The unbreakable shine from Arden's body even overwhelmed the stadium lighting that had been keeping their rainy battlefield visible. Ciel shielded his eyes but was unable to look away from the biological marvel.

Within the glow, Arden's entire body was reformatted. Natural growth brought a Pokémon's form to a maximum size and mass, but that wasn't the end for a Pokémon's development. At a certain point, and with enough constant exercise, the evolutionary threshold was crossed, and some internal function activated. It ordered the entire body to simultaneously digest all available material and reconstruct itself from the ground up. Each change of form effectively restarted growth from zero, allowing a Pokémon to once again push itself to a new maximum.

Arden's body condensed into a shapeless mass of white before expanding. It grew to a new height, his front limbs extending to match the length of his back pair. Triangular shapes protruded from atop the white form and his previously thin snout was replaced by a defined muzzle. All the while, Arden let out a pained scream.

The glow faded and the familiar tan and teal color scheme of his Pokémon reappeared. A new set of flame glands fired from atop behind his head. Arden was reborn as a Quilava.

He let out a battle cry into the rainy sky before he collapsed motionless onto the ground. The referee declared him unfit for battle.

"Arden, are you okay?!" called Ciel as he ran up to his Pokémon. The referee kept out her yellow flag, and when he glanced over, she gave him a nod.

All the Pokémon could offer was a pitiful cry. In a slow, agonizing motion, he barely managed to push up his backside using his hind legs, but immediately he lost muscle control and collapsed onto his stomach again. His flames barely kindled. All Ciel could do was recall him to his capsule, and after a few moments of searching around the arena, his eyes landed on Brent. He was sitting alongside a gaggle of his other friends near the front, where he noticed Gold and Crystal speaking to each other. He compressed the Poké Ball to its miniature state and lobbed it across the field to the best of his ability. His friend caught it with both hands, fumbled, and then gave him a thumbs up from afar when he found solid grip. As Brent disappeared into the interior of the arena, he knew the Pokémon was in good hands.

"Nice throw, kid," Whitney shot at him, "and it's right of you to get your teammate help so quickly. He'll need as much rest as he can get."

Ciel withdrew the remaining Poké Balls from his pocket and rolled them around in his palm. He still had three, but he'd have to choose wisely for his remaining two in the current battle. Rock had a resistance to the Normal type, right? He gripped Hector's Poké Ball tightly, before tossing it onto the field—the button pressed as it hit the floor, and his Rhyhorn was released for battle.

"Hector, can you handle the rain?" he asked his Pokémon after he fully materialized.

Curiously, Hector paced around the arena slowly, appearing both confused and apprehensive about the downpour. Ciel noticed then that nothing was pooling on their platform and judging by the streams moving towards and past him, he assumed there was a near-imperceptible incline towards the center of the ring. Hector returned to ready position and stared down his new enemy.

Whitney's Miltank stood proud on the field. The creature was a bipedal pink bovine, though its hide suddenly transitioned to black around its head and made it look like it was sporting a hood. Ciel winced in discomfort at the presented utter. Whitney whistled and added a rural twang to her speech. "Come on girl, we got a battle to win!" The Pokémon snorted, bellowed, and tracked a hoof across the ground in preparation.

The referee waved down a green flag. "Battle resume!"

"Use Rollout!" Whitney shouted immediately, giving him little time to formulate a plan. The Pokémon curled into a ball and rocketed towards them, trailing through the water around the battlefield.

Ciel's command failed to cross his lips. Hector was forced to counter on his own terms as the bouldering ball of destruction slammed into him headfirst. With a short sidestep, Hector was able to redirect the oncoming force to the side, letting the Miltank slide past him. As he watched the response, Ciel was astounded by the level of control Whitney's Miltank had in that state, especially compared to Arden's flame wheel. The Pokémon curved to his left, banking into its roll to veer away from a ring-out and returning deftly to the opposite end of the battlefield. Then the rolling began again.

Hector lowered his head, horn forward, but this only prompted the rolling Miltank to swerve to the side and circle back, slamming into the side of his body. It bounced away and began to curve again.

Ciel needed to do something, and fast. "Bulldoze!"

Hector reared up and slammed his plated legs onto the arena to create a small tremor. Both trainers kept their footing and the displacement of ground hardly slowed the Miltank barreling towards them. Ciel called, "do it again! Harder!"

Hector repeated the action, this time pulling himself further onto his hind legs. The Rollout was on a collision course. Hector crashed into the arena below, hard enough to crack into whatever material the raised platform was made of, shaking the entire battlefield to the point that Ciel's feet slipped out from under him and he landed out from behind his Pokémon. This time, the tremor was powerful enough that the Miltank's roll wavered, and this time it was heading directly towards him!

Ciel was barely able to stand and brought up an arm to brace for impact. However, after hearing Whitney call out for her Pokémon to use Brick Break, the only thing that occurred was a sickening crunch. He brought him arm down to see Hector and Whitney's Miltank static in front of him. Miltank's Brick Break had cracked one of his side plates in two.

"Hector?" he mouthed, relief and concern juxtaposed on his face. His Pokémon's left eye found his own while Miltank's chop buried itself into his side.

Ciel found his own footing and returned to ready position, a million thoughts racing through his mind. He focused on one. If Hector was going to protect his pack, he should too.

"It's time to suck it up," Ciel muttered to himself. "Laina looks up to me and my Pokémon need me. My dad can bite for all I care. It's not about him. It's about us." He stared down at his Pokémon, who despite labored breathing was standing proud. "Thank you, Hector. I'm not going to leave you to do this alone anymore."

Hector issued a defiant roar and shook violently to ward Whitney's partner away. Both sides were brought back to a standstill, but this time, Ciel took the first move. "Horn Attack!"

Hector hauled like a freight train. Every step he took sent a slight rumble through the platform. The sudden increase in power caught Ciel by surprise. Was it something he did? He closed the distance, and Whitney swung out her arm. "Dodge it!"

"Stop and use Bulldoze!" he countered.

Hector was unable to stop his momentum on a dime, but he improvised the move. He reared up onto his back legs, awkwardly hopped to continue his current motion, and brought himself back down again. The resulting tremor tripped Whitney's Miltank before it could dive away, leaving an open target. The bovine creature could barely process the sudden fall, and neither could Whitney. She stuttered, "Uhh, catch it!"

Ciel called Hector to finish using Horn Attack. The two sides clashed. Hector jammed his horn forward, catching the Miltank in the stomach. It planted its back legs and grabbed the ridges lining Hector's head plates. Hector drove his horn deeper. Miltank groaned in pain. It looked like his Rhyhorn was gaining the upper hand, but Ciel saw his knees buckle. Whitney shouted for her Pokémon to throw the opponent off.

With a veritable roar, Whitney's Miltank torqued its body to the side, overpowering Hector's low center of gravity to drive him to the ground. He crashed onto his side, more of his cracked plates scattering across the floor. Both trainers watched the Pokémon struggle to turn himself over. Ciel could see slight spasms of muscle every with every drop of rain that penetrated his shell. He'd feared the type weakness from the very beginning, and he was glad his Pokémon had held out so long, but it was over. He motioned to the referee, who dropped a yellow flag.

Ciel found himself pushing at his Pokémon's side to attempt to flip him over. That Miltank must have been made of pure muscle, because Ciel could barely move him a centimeter. Wasn't he supposed to be a runt of the litter? The referee offered to help, and together they managed to return him to standing position.

"Hey, buddy, you really saved me out there," Ciel told his Rhyhorn. He held out a hand and Hector rubbed his snout in the palm. His mind cast back to Brent, whom he didn'tt see back in the stands. "Looks like I'm surrounded by heroes. Get some rest."

Ciel recalled his Pokémon and stood opposite Whitney and her own. Her Miltank was panting—the small bleeding wound in its front where Hector had impacted it wasn't a beautiful sight. It was one-and-a-half versus one-half. Raven didn't have much left in her as is and he didn't want to push his luck,so Ciel conceded his massive disadvantage but steeled himself to try. He owed it to everyone he counted on, including himself.

"Your head's a little higher than it was a few minutes ago," teased Whitney while Ciel returned his partner to the battlefield. "Did you reinvent or are you going to figure it out later?

"The second one," he shot back.

Whitney shrugged. "Hey, that's as good as any. I don't want to be fighting a trainer who keeps tripping over his own words."

Raven's body fully materialized, and despite the brilliant shocks persisting, she defiantly growled at Whitney's Miltank. A flash of Dark-type energy coursed through her blade before vanishing.

Ciel felt cold. His shirt and pants were completely soaked—the saturated material clung to his skin, causing shivers to run up his neck. He wished he'd brought his own umbrella. The crowd roared in anticipation of battle's final phase, drowning out the sound of the rain itself. However, Ciel's mind was clear, at least temporarily. When the flag was cast, he called the first move.

"Quick Attack!" he commanded.

Raven fired across the arena, racing at nearly double her normal speed. She threw a claw forward and struck across Miltank's side before the opponent Pokémon could even see the attack. However, a jolt ran through her back leg as the attack connected and it sent her stumbling.

"Use Stomp, Miltank!" ordered Whitney. Her Pokémon took the opening to her advantage and brought a massive hooved foot down on Raven's back. His partner was driven to the floor. Another shock ran through her body and her muscles seized. Whitney gave a laugh. "Finish it, Miltank. Body Slam!"

The opponent Pokémon backed away temporarily. A snort and some pawing of the ground signaled its intentions. It charged. Raven was helpless on the ground, and he didn't have any defensive moves to prevent it.

Raven blurred. Ciel forced himself to blink to make sure he wasn't seeing things and she had completely vanished in the moment his eyes were closed. Whitney's Miltank failed to make its mark, causing the creature to pull up on its charge and bring its guard up. A silence fell on the arena as everyone in the stands waited in anticipation for the next move.

A flash of white appeared directly in front of Miltank. Raven's body curled, ready to pounce. The opponent Pokémon could barely crane its neck downward at the new presence before the attack fired.

"Night Slash!" Ciel shouted.

Raven lunged and swung her charged sickle through the Miltank's head. A trail of shimmering black tracked her motion as the weapon passed through its target. Raven crashed onto the other side due to the paralysis, while her opponent fell forward, motionless. Once again, Night Slash didn't leave a wound, but Whitney's Pokémon was rendered completely inert.

The referee swung a flag. "The Gym Leader's Pokémon is unable to battle. Please send in your next Pokémon."

Whitney searched her pockets for only a moment before a bewildered look crossed her face. She patted herself down a second time. "Uh oh, spaghetti-o's," she announced. "Hey ref, I don't think I actually have another one. I think I forgot it."

The three of them passed a set of confused expressions around. Raven slowly stood on the arena, tired and spasming but still conscious. The referee shrugged and waved the blue flag instead. "The Gym Leader has run out of Pokémon. The winner is Participant 123!"

Ciel fell to his behind and soaked himself further. "Holy…" he managed. He won? He couldn't believe it. "I… I won!" he shouted. He pumped his arms to the sky.

Whitney burst out into tears. A horrifying wallow pierced Ciel's ears and he could see globs running down her face despite the rain. He felt his own cheeks heating up, as no doubt every pair of eyes in the arena was on that embarrassing spectacle. He gathered to his feet and met her in the middle of the arena.

"Excuse me, Miss Akane, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" asked the referee. The woman pulled out a handkerchief only to realize it was pointless under the downpour.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaah! I can't believe I lost from such terrible luck! You meanie!" Whitney cried out. Ciel shrunk in on himself further and just wanted the whole thing to be over.

Then, immediately, she stopped. The tears stopped flowing, she stopped screaming, and she stared at him with utmost composure. "Ah, that was a good cry, now wasn't it? Here's your cash for winning, by the way," she said while depositing a saturated wad of bills in his hand. "You're not supposed to pay the winner in a tournament battle, but we're technically mixing rulesets here."

Whitney also pulled a single badge out of her wallet. He absently grabbed the object, a flat yellow diamond, and stuck in in the badge case he carried in his back pocket. It fit snugly in the third slot next to the Hive Badge. He finally found his words. "What… just happened?"

"What?" she asked, innocently. "It's like I said. There's nothing more fun than making a scene. Stop by my Gym next time you want a challenge, alright?"

She recalled her partner Pokémon and exited the arena, tall, proud, and waving. The spectators cheered, once again deafening the rainfall. "Unbelievable!" boomed the tournament director. "A challenger has defeated Gym Leader Whitney Akane and obtained the Plain Badge! All of you other slackers just aren't trying hard enough." Her words only served to rile the crowd up further, and Ciel hurried quickly off the platform. He and Raven needed out of the rain.

He could feel something building in his chest. The rush of victory running through him made him forget almost entirely about his father, and as he walked back from the battlefield, it released. He jumped high into the air, involuntarily, and shouted his excitement at the top of his lungs. He rushed to his mother and sister, who were waiting for him just inside the passageway to the arena interior and pulled both of them into an uncomfortably wet hug.

* * *

Inside the Pokémon Center, Ciel was blown away at the sheer modernity. A curved hallway made up the main body of the center, running nearly half the length of the stadium's lowest floor. Aside from the single central office, the Pokémon Center's two wings were entirely composed of individual rooms filled to the brim with healing machinery, medicine, and most importantly, Pokémon. The amount of unfamiliar Pokémon in the facility nearly made his head spin. And here he thought he was special having a foreign species like Raven on his team.

"That was  _super amazing,_ Ciel!" badgered Laina. She was tugging on his shirt to get his attention. It was squeezing water onto the floor and down his pants.

"Laina, come on," he told his sister. She let go of him. "I'm already tracking water everywhere."

"But it was super cool that you beat that Gym Leader in front of so many people. You're famous! Aren't you excited?"

"I wouldn't say I'm famous yet," he conceded. "But it  _was_ super cool." He felt almost guilty taking so much praise, but he couldn't deny the emotional high he was in. He noted a familiar face ahead of him. "Westwood!"

The cowboy was standing in front of the glass window of one of the treatment rooms, leaning back like the protagonist in an old spaghetti western. He held his hat in front of his chest. "How's it be, 'See-ehl'? Yer battle up there was a dandy one. I didn't know your Absol knew Detect."

Me neither, he didn't say. "Yeah, thanks man. How are your Pokémon?"

He pointed inside the room, where all three of his Pokémon were in for a short recovery on the two maroon beds. On the left, his Pawniard was dozing softly while sitting up against a pillow with Lillipup resting its head on the other's lap. A veterinarian was tending to his Rufflet on the other, though none of the healing machinery was in use.

"Accordin' to the doc, none'a the boys need anythin' but a short rest. Rufflet got it a little worse from that powerful attack yer little Absol did there. Since Dark moves don't bleed, though, it's just a stitch or three and a bit o' antiseptic so nothin' gets caught while it's closing up." He turned to face the window with his back straight and shoulders strong. "Ya should probably change clothes."

Ciel peered down at the pool at his feet. "Yeah…"

"Ciel, are you coming? Your Pokémon are this way," his mother called. She had stopped ahead after realizing he wasn't following.

"Okay Mom!" he shouted back. "I'll see you on the flip side, right Westwood?"

He tipped his hat downward. "What kinda phrase is that? Is that yer way of sounding Unovan?"

"Well, I already speak the language." Ciel shrugged. He waved goodbye and jogged after his mother down the crowded hall.

When he and his family arrived at his designated room, Brent was inside and feeding some odd gruel on a spoon to his Cyndaquil— err, Quilava. Arden was conscious but could barely hold his head up. His flames weren't burning.

The three pushed their way inside the door and Brent stood up to greet them. "Hey, everybody! I heard the crowd screaming up there, but I missed the end of the battle. You kicked butt, right?"

"Yes, he did," announced his mother. "We're really proud of him."

"How's Arden? And what are you feeding him?" Ciel asked.

"Well, for how he is, the nurse said that since he evolved, there's nothing particularly  _wrong_ with him, he's just abnormally low on energy. He'll be fine, but he might need at least two weeks to fully recover." He pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ciel. A prescription. "As for the second question, it's a mix of Sitrus, Lum, and something I've never heard of called Nomel. Apparently the last one stimulates recovery, and the whole mixture is pumped full of nutrients and medicine."

Arden leveled his gaze at its trainer, and for a split second, the flame on his head fired in recognition. It died immediately, but Ciel felt humbled that he'd try to get so excited in his condition. Raven hopped up on the bed and lied down in front of her teammate.

"Thank you for taking care of my son's Pokémon," his mother said to Brent. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

The older trainer took it in stride. "What else am I supposed to do when the man of the hour doing a Gym Battle throws his Poké Ball at me? I'm not looking to be crucified by the crowd."

A crowd of people began pushing through the door. "Yoohoo, Ciel!" shouted Mirei, who had both her wife and daughter dragged along in headlocks. "You were amazing out there! I can see why Lyra is friends with you."

Two other people carrying a microphone and camera equipment also tried to cram there way inside the small room. "Hey, can we get an interview in here, Mr. Fauder? The local paper would love to hear about this. Here's my headline," a woman said, "'Against All Odds, Rising Trainer Wins Live Gym Battle Before Thousands.' Sound good? Okay?"

Brent stood up, and for the first time since meeting him, Ciel heard him raise his voice. " _Will all of you get out?"_ The entire crowd settled at the sudden challenge. "His Pokémon need to rest, and you aren't helping the process. You can come back later."

An embarrassed Crystal waved goodbye as her Nan dragged her outside the room. The two interviewers begrudgingly backed off as well, leaving Brent and Ciel's family alone once again.

"Thank you for that," Ciel said. "I'm not good at being the center of attention."

The older trainer sat back down and resumed feeding Arden the healing mixture. "It's no trouble. I just want to see this little buddy get better. If I'm honest, I'm not just here for the battles. I want to see Pokémon and people grow, however they do it. That's the essence of being a hero, right? You help someone so that they can go on and help someone else." In the middle of his sentence, Arden passed out entirely. "Whoops."

"Wow, Ciel, you didn't say he was a philosopher," chided his mother. "Come on, we should probably head back up to the stands, so we don't miss any of your friends' matches. Leave your Poké Balls here for the workers here and lock the door behind you. I'd suggest you overnight them."

Ciel bid goodbye to Raven and Arden for the night, placed his remaining Poké Balls in the tray, and made his way topside with his family. His mother invited Brent to the VIP stands, and after clearing with some officials that he was a guest, they found their seats. The rain had cleared up since the end of his battle, but he still had to wipe the water out of his seat. Not that it would help.

As he sat down, he realized how much of a mistake it was to follow his mother to the club seating. He could feel the knives of surrounding gazes pierce through his skull. Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, and the remainder he had yet to meet. The only one missing—thankfully—was his father, but his absence didn't improve the situation. Ciel folded inward on himself.

To distract himself from prying eyes, Ciel focused on the appearance of the next set of battles. He was drawn to the sandy-haired set of siblings who stood tall on directly adjacent platforms. As the battles began, they released from their capsules two of Kanto's most powerful Pokémon: Charizard and Dragonite. The majesty of both draconic creatures drew him in. The battles began.

" _Flamethrower!"_ shouted Christine Masuta. The sound echoed from the jumbotron suspended above her arena among the playback of the other screens. Simultaneously, Sebastian Masuta ordered,  _"Hyper Beam!"_

Both attacks fired from their users with radiating power, so much that Ciel swore he could feel it through the distance and the barrier. Both streams swallowed their opponents in bursts of flame and light, and when the cleared, the opposing Pokémon were both unconscious. A single hit each. The collective gasp of the crowd echoed Ciel's own opinion on the battle. They were almost as powerful as World Trial participants.

The siblings' battles were over in record time. Kris's opponent forfeited before his third Pokémon was released, but Saber's persevered. Another Hyper Beam washed over his opponent's third team member and it was over. The two siblings exited the stage to rousing applause, and Ciel felt the knot in his stomach at the thought of facing them in battle.

Nothing remarkable happened for the remainder of the day. Ciel cheered on Brent and Crystal, who both pulled through their second-round bouts. Gold, though he came close, lost his own battle, his Slowpoke being knocked out by a Corsola. It didn't look like Gold had much experience battling with the Pokémon. Still, he walked off with a smile on his face.

By the time the second round ended, Ciel had to be roused from sleep by his mother. He'd dozed off while trying to focus on the battles. It had been a long day. His own Gym Battle had taken up extra time and the director called for a recess at one point to let more rain pass. It was beginning to get dark when Ciel and his family left the stadium for the night.

Ciel gathered his team from the Pokémon Center and walked home. Even Raven had no objections to being dematerialized for the trek back. He bid farewell to Brent and the two parted ways. Ciel found himself dragging along the parking lot with his mother and sister. His father must have already headed back to the hotel rooms. Laina tried to energize him, but at that point he was too far gone. Both he and his Pokémon needed some solid rest before the next day of battles began.

Laina began talking to his mother about school. She was in sixth grade now. Ciel hadn't been keeping up. Soon, he found himself falling behind, and when he powered his legs to catch up, he turned a corner to find his family missing. The trainer quickly scanned the area with his head. He was in a dark backstreet, cutting through some of the more regularly congested areas of the city. Had he taken a wrong turn while following them?

He suddenly remembered his new Poké GEAR and flipped it open to call his mother. As he dialed in the digits, something cold found itself against his neck. His arm fell limply to his side as he realized what was happening. He began breathing faster. His vision blurred.

"That's right. Put your little toy away, you don't need to use it," called a sickly, feminine voice. "It's sad that you left your Pokémon at the stadium overnight."

"W-who are you?" he choked out. "I don't have anything with me. J-just some cash," he offered. The bills Whitney awarded him were in his wallet.

"Don't be silly, I don't need your money. I just want to… talk." She pressed the knife further with the final word. "A little birdie found out that you've been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Ciel tried to restrict his breathing to not touch the weapon with his neck. "What… do you mean?"

"The Ruins of Alph, remember? We knew someone went down there at a  _very_ inopportune time, but we didn't know who. How kind of you to go and flap your lips about it."

"Who is 'we'?" he posed, still choking on his own breath. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he felt his neck start to sting. "You... you're with the Rocket Syndicate, aren't you?"

The pressure suddenly disappeared, and the woman put a foot to his back and sent him sprawling on the dark pavement. He groaned but managed to turn his head the attacker. It was a woman in a dark robe with violet locks and sharp, dangerous eyes. As he thought, a small emblazoned "R" shone itself on her chest.

The woman brought a hand up to her ear. "Master, what do you recommend?" she asked nobody.

After a short period of silence, she said, "I understand." The woman turned back to Ciel and shook him to the core with her smile. "You really know the right things to say when you need to say them, huh? And here I was going to put you down for good. How rash of me. Go on, tell your friends and the authorities about the  _Rockets_. We'll be keeping an eye on you, your parents, and even that adorable little sister of yours, just to make sure you stay in line."

Sister. The one word made his vision flash red. He jumped to his feet and charged, fist drawn, ready to let it fly. As he threw the punch, she disappeared. Just as quickly as she had appeared and threatened him, she was gone.

Ciel fell to his knees and reached for his neck. Just touching it sent pain through his head, and when he drew back his hand, a thin line of blood was barely visible in the fading daylight. He felt himself fade from his own consciousness at the sight.

"Ciel!" called Brent as he soon appeared. His friend placed hands on his front and back to steady him. "Holy hell, are you okay? Breathe. Breathe."

His mother and sister followed soon after in a panic. Before any of them had a chance to say anything, he wrestled free of Brent and kneeled again to pull his sister into a firm embrace.

"Ciel?" she asked. "What's wrong, big brother?"

He didn't let go. Another warm pair of arms enveloped him, and he looked upwards to see his mother's face. The three of them held like that for a while.

* * *

The sky was black when they reached the police station. Ciel sat shaking on the bench with his sister on his right and Brent on his left. The latter had a hand around his shoulder. He watched as his mother paced back and forth, painstakingly explaining the situation to an absent-minded officer for the umpteenth time. She was growing more and more visibly agitated by the minute, but the man seemed unconvinced that the Rocket Syndicate was involved.

"We came as fast as we could!" shouted Crystal, who slammed through the front door of the station with two figures in tow. She rushed up to him. "Ciel, are you okay? Oh my goodness, what happened to your neck?"

Crystal retrieved various first aid supplies from her bag and shoved them into his pockets for when he needed them, all while trying to calm him down. Ciel scratched at the bandage wrapped around him but couldn't manage any words. With a slow, shaky motion, he pointed to where his mother was arguing with the officer. She grabbed Gold and the person in the hoodie by the hands and stormed up to speak with the officer. He could hear clearly their own testimonials about the Rockets.

Though his vision was blurred, Ciel saw someone standing outside the door to the station. His father didn't move, he just leaned up against the doorframe, but he was there. Was it obligatory or generous?

His mother stormed over. In her exasperated state, bags hung under her eyes and her hair fell haphazardly around her face. "Let's go, everyone. The best we can do is that they offered an officer to escort us back to the stadium tomorrow and they'd investigate around, but without any other evidence from the incident, there isn't much they can do. "

She helped pull him to his feet. It was an agonizing process—he didn't have the strength, physical or mental, to really move his body. By the time they were outside, Ciel had used up almost all his energy, but he still pushed his mother away when she tried to take his hand.

"Can you walk, dear?" she asked. "Don't push yourself."

Ciel curled his fast at his side. His nails dug into his palm  _hard._ "I want to help you guys," he stated.

"What do you mean? You're not in any condition to do anything right now, Ciel. Let's just get you home, okay?" Crystal put her arm under his to give him more support. Brent mirrored her on his opposite side.

"I want to help you fight the Rocket Syndicate. You said that he had a bone to pick with them, right?" he asked, pointing at Silver. Silver took down his hood, revealing his face.

"What's it to you?" confronted the redheaded boy. "I don't even want their help, so I certainly don't need you. The Rockets are  _my_ battle."

"Hey, but you asked us—" Gold shouted before being cut off by Crystal.

"Regardless of who asked what, are you certain you want to get involved in this? We saw some pretty gruesome things in Slowpoke well, and we know what the Rockets are capable of. Silver's right. We don't want anyone else involved if we end up doing something dangerous," Crystal said.

"She threatened my sister. She threatened my family," Ciel said with tears welling down his face. "I told myself I'd get strong enough to protect those people, that I'd keep getting stronger to stop people from getting hurt. I need to fulfill my promise to myself and to them."

The young trainer brought his fist up to chest level. "That's who I want to be. So, if you're going to be chasing after the Rockets, I want to be there."

"Count me in too," Brent announced to the group. "If you ever need us, we're ready when you call. That's what friends are for."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Silver muttered.

Ciel looked down as his younger sister grabbed his hands in her own. Their eyes met, and he saw a plea. "Let's get back, Ciel. You should sleep."

He squeezed her hands tightly as they trudged through Goldenrod streets. Their hotel room wasn't particularly far away, but it felt like an eternity as all of them trekked the blackness.

* * *

As promised, an officer accompanied the Fauder family back to the stadium. The entire second day began without much fanfare and Ciel's name was once again drawn in the first set of battles. Just his luck.

He groggily drew himself up to the platform after collecting his Pokémon. The Director had pitted Participant 123 against Participant 25. For the second time, a familiar face surfaced against him in the tournament.

"Hey there, Ciel!" greeted Kris. "Nice that I get to meet you on the battlefield, huh?"

She noticed his current state. "Hey, are you doing alright? I heard something happened last night."

"I'm fine," he insisted, though it was unconvincing. He ordered Raven to the field. "Let's just get this over with."

"If you say so," Kris said, before releasing her own partner to the field in a burst of flame. "Don't blame me for what happens next. I've got the whole world staring me down and I don't want to disappoint."

The battle was over before it began. Kris's Charizard, Zara, was a complete monster, and Ciel's brain was scrambled from his lack of sleep. Even in clear weather, everything worked against he and his team. Raven was swallowed by a high-power Flamethrower. Clovis couldn't match Zara's aerial superiority and was cut down with Air Slash. Hector, despite the overwhelming type advantage, was eventually forced to yield as Dragon Rage after Dragon Rage washed over him. His entire team fell without even knocking out one of the girl's Pokémon.

"Participant 123's Pokémon is unable to battle. The winner is Participant 25!" shouted the referee.

Christine Masuta raised a fist to the sky and the entire crowd exploded. The daughter of Champions, a rising star, and someone Ciel couldn't hope to match. He shook her hand.

"That was fun!" Her energy sometimes seemed boundless, but not in a childish way. "Hey, is that a Poké GEAR? Give me that for a second."

She popped open the device strapped to his arm and hit a bunch of buttons. He drew back the device and stared. She had added a contact with her phone number, but he was confused as to why.

"Hit me up if you ever want a rematch. See you around!"

Ciel closed his Poké GEAR and made his way back to the Pokémon Center. Despite all his Pokémon having already healed, he was forced to check the three of them back in alongside Arden.

He decided to sit with his friends in the regular side of the stands to catch the remaining battles. Brent fought against Sebastian Masuta in the third round. He raised his voice to a shout to support his friend, but knowing what the siblings were capable of, he wasn't surprised at the outcome. Though Brent's Sentret deftly weaved in between powerful beam attacks, it was eventually overpowered by a Dragon Claw. Zuki even raised her voice in a guttural shout he'd expect from any sports fan, but upon noticing this, she covered her mouth with her hand and tried to compose herself.

As he returned to the stands, Ciel held out a fist to Brent. "You kept him on his toes."

The other boy fist-bumped him. "I'm satisfied that we tried our best. That's all I want my team to do."

Crystal made it through the third round and faced off against a tall, bearded man in leathers in her fourth-round battle. He brought with him an army of Dark-type Pokémon, and though she was able to put down his Sneasel, Crystal was overpowered by a foreign Pokémon called Inkay. The final score was 2-0, and she met the biker in the middle to shake hands. The man offered her a massive hug and thanked her for her battle before he left.

Ciel, Brent, Zuki, Gold, and the reclusive Silver met and congratulated Crystal in the stands. She was pulled into another, more crushing hug by Gold. "I'll never forgive you for making it further than me, sister, but your Pokémon were awesome! Marigold, do your thing!"

He held his partner with both hands in front of Crystal. Marigold put on a face of pure determination—her cheeks puffed, and she began almost turning red. Ciel didn't even know plant-based Pokémon  _had_ blood. With a triumphant squeak, a bud extended from her leaf and bloomed instantly into a luminous, white flower. "Here's your present," he said while shoving his partner into the girl's grasp. Marigold relished the physical affection. "See, it's a marigold! Like her name."

Crystal held up the Chikorita confusedly, met with an adorable squeak. "I think this is a magnolia, Gold."

"Shut up, sister. I'm mad that you made it further than me so I'm not listening to you for a while." He blew a raspberry at her.

By the end of the fourth round, none of his friends were paying attention to the tournament. The previous night's encounter threatened to enter his mind, but Lyra tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, Ciel, check this out." She brandished a deep orange stone, radial in shape and covered in soft spines. "It's a Sun Stone, they gave it to me for getting to the fourth round. I think I can induce Ray to evolve with this."

He marveled at the stone. "Wow, that's cool. Just be prepared for him to take it easy for a while. Wait, don't I get a prize?"

"I think so. The guy at the prize counter down below said everyone, even first-round eliminations, gets something out of the tournament. You could go check after."

The Masuta siblings were sweeping the tournament. Through the fifth and sixth rounds, they demolished their opponents with the same overwhelming power Ciel had been exposed to. He wasn't even sure Kris had healed her Charizard the entire day, as he could see her return to the stands with her family immediately after each round.

Ciel's neck itched and he scratched at the bandage. An image of sharp metal and the word "sister" ran through his mind. Immediately, Gold snapped by his face.

"Ciel, Marigold is getting pretty strong. Do you  _Bayleef_ she will evolve soon?" he asked with an innocent grin.

Ciel covered his face with his hand and snorted. "I don't know how she puts up with you."

"You're making a lot of assumptions there," Crystal said.

The crowd grew silent as the Director stepped up upon her podium. She waved an arm to cease any further chatter. "And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The finals match between our two best battlers. It's a sibling rivalry, so expect it to be particularly bloody. I present to you, Participants 25 and 52, Christine and Sebastian Masuta!"

The siblings took the stage and revealed their draconic fighters. Their faces, confident grins plastered on both, appeared on all the screens in the stadium. A prominent "VS" split their visages.

"But before that, a special message from our two honored guests. I invite Cynthia and Lance back to the stage to give some final words before our tournament reaches its climax. I'd suggest you kids listen and you might learn something." She sneered and left the stage, only to be replaced by the legends atop the world.

"To all in attendance, we treasure your participating over these past two days," said Lance. This time, he had a line mic broadcasting his voice, rather than a handheld one. "This event has been nothing short of magical, and the Goldenrod Showdown has once again shown off the finest rising talent this region and beyond has to offer."

"However," interrupted Cynthia, "the tournament season isn't yet over. The bi-annual World Trial is looming next month, and my husband and I will be traveling to the Grand Axis to test our mettle. We urge you to catch the battles on television or even venture to the center of the world yourself. For all those participating today, you can marvel at the kind of trainers you should aspire to be, and we hope to see you there in due time."

Both spoke in unison. "And without further ado, let the final battle begin!"

The Masuta twins called their first attacks. Dragonite and Charizard met in the middle with devastating claw attacks, causing a shockwave to tear through the entire arena, penetrating even through the energy barriers.

Ciel and his group sat patiently as the battle unfolded. It was exciting, sure, but there was something dissatisfying about it. Brent was the first one to voice all their thoughts.

"Does anyone else think it's kind of unfair that the two finalists are the Champions' kids? Did we even have a chance?"

Kris and Saber's Pokémon released their signature beam attacks. Flamethrower and Hyper Beam exploded as they collided.

The six, even Silver, all grunted in unison.

* * *

Ciel walked with his family to the platform of Goldenrod's main train station. A sleek passenger bullet train sat ready for its next departure; they had arrived just in time. When they stepped up to the crowd of people waiting to board, Ciel made sure to keep his head held high.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with us, Ciel?" his mother asked. "You can always put your Gym Challenge on hold. There's no rush, just so you know."

He could hear the underlying concern, and the bandage around his neck was the cause. He just hugged and spoke with his head against her chest. "I'll be fine, mom. I'll make sure to keep my Pokémon with me and be more careful walking around at night. You're going to keep an eye on Laina, right?"

"Of course, dear. I'm not going to let anything happen to her, so you better not let anything happen to you."

"Hey!" his sister complained. "I don't need people to look after me. I'm eleven, and I can more than look after myself!"

"Is that so, you little baby?" Ciel grabbed her cheeks, gently, and shook them back and forth. She recoiled. "Grownups don't whine like that." This only caused another huff.

"Are you ladies coming?" called Pryce, who stood close to the yellow line. The train was beginning to board. "We're going to need to be back in Mahogany by tomorrow. The League already gave you a week off and you know they aren't willing to stretch it."

"Of course,  _Master Yanagi_. Come on, Laina, we should be going." She took her daughter's hand.

The three of them waved their goodbyes. Pryce called back, "I'll be waiting for your return to Mahogany, son. This tournament was only the first test of how far you've come."

Together, they boarded the train, and nearly every other passenger disappeared into the closing doors of the vehicle. Only a single person was left.

Raven walked between his legs and rubbed herself on him, but upon noticing the man, she growled. The Absol bared her sickle and her white fur stood on end. Ciel held her Poké Ball tightly in his hand as he stared down his father. Eventually, he would have to return to his new home, and face both of his parents in battle for the Glacier Badge. He wasn't sure he'd be ready to test himself against his father no matter the training he underwent.

Daku Fauder didn't speak, but his words echoed in Ciel's mind.  _"I'll be trying my best. I'll call you later, Ciel."_ A half-hearted smile was all the man had to give, which Ciel returned with a simple frown. It wasn't that easy.

He boarded the train just as it began to move. It passed out of view into the north. Ciel waved for as long as it was in view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **For this chapter, I was suggested to take a different approach to my storytelling to try to improve my writing. As much as I love the deconstructive power of internal monologues, I tried this chapter to refrain from fully detailing thought processes and see if I could convey it further through outward choices. Apologies if this chapter feels a little different than usual.**
> 
> **I admittedly think I rushed the ending of the tournament somewhat, but I found it a preferable alternative to letting it spill over into Chapter 16. It was supposed to end last chapter originally, but there ended up being so much content that I was struggling to remain brief. I now understand full well why tournament arcs in anime tend to drag on. It just keeps going. I’m not satisfied with how quick the ending felt, even if I had the outcome planned from the start; it was a learning experience to do something like this, but it both wasn’t easy and isn’t something I want to do again soon.**
> 
> **This is also the first chapter to have a true deleted scene. Usually I move unused scenes around or cut up some of their contents for use elsewhere, but this time I just straight up cut it because I thought it was unnecessary. It was a conversation between Gold and Crystal in the stands in response to Arden evolving, meant to give context on how the evolutions work, but I figured that since I had Elm explain it in a wall of text earlier it wasn’t needed.**
> 
> **Next chapter is supposed to be the ending of the first major “story arc”, as it were. This is still tentative as I had to extend this tournament and I may or may not add a chapter to compensate. I’ll keep updates on my profile to reflect what’s happening.**
> 
> **Next time - Chapter 16: Every Man’s Own Way. Signing off.**


	16. Summer of Change

He applied force, but too much force, and the whole bag of marshmallows spilled messily onto the dirt-caked ground. Ciel held them up to his face in disappointment. "Uhh, sorry guys."

"Don't sweat it," Brent said, pointing at the remaining treats at the bottom. "There's still enough you didn't drop for all of us."

Three skewers later, the two boys, along with Zuki, were ready for a global campfire tradition. Arden breathed a powerful burst of flame that lit their bundle of kindling despite a lack or lighter fluid. Soft flashes of light from the licking flames covered their temporary campsite in a warm glow, the underside of their faces brightened by the fire amidst the night.

Ciel hovered his hand over his Quilava's head, and in response, the Pokemon cut his ignition to allow the trainer to scratch him between the ears. "Thanks for the help, buddy. You seem like you're finally back to top condition, huh?"

Arden fired excitedly and engulfed Ciel's hand in flames for a split second. Ciel reeled back and hissed between his teeth. He rubbed the burn but laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"No more stalling, Ciel. It's marshmallow time!" Brent thrust his skewered snack over the flames in an exaggerated, fencing-like motion.

Ciel followed suit with less flair. Zuki, at first, was apprehensive about putting herself near an open flame, but Brent urged her on and she soon had her own marshmallow roasting.

"Sucks that we don't have any takoyaki to go with this," Ciel said with a frown. It's a Johtoan tradition to eat marshmallows alongside fried octopus snacks, giving the perfect mix of sweet and savory. The best they could substitute was some jerky and canned food the group had packed. The items were traded around, and each member of the party took what they wanted.

Brent pulled his skewer from the flame and shoved the end in his mouth. He downed the entire marshmallow in a single gulp. "Mmmng, this is so good," he said, muffled by the gooey substance in his mouth.

"Don't speak with your mouth full. You know it's rude," chastised Zuki with a stern finger. She rotated her own cooked treat around to examine its composition. Hesitantly, she poked it with her index finger, but pulled away at the heat.

"Have you never had roasted marshmallows before?" Brent asked, accompanied by a sly grin.

Zuki leveled her gaze downward. She scratched her arm. "My mother never allowed us to go camping like this. Or have sweets. I'm… unfamiliar with all of this."

A look of panic crossed Brent's face and he scrambled backwards over his words. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings by saying that. Really, I was just a joke." He trailed off and joined her in staring at the ground.

Then shebackpedaled. "No, no, no, I wasn't taking any offense. Really, I wasn't. I'm just uninitiated!"

Ciel quietly ate his marshmallow as the two countered each other's apologies in increasingly ridiculous ways. Could they beany  _more_  obvious? He held the skewer out to Arden, who chomped the remainder of the marshmallow off the stick. Raven strolled over from a napping spot, and after giving her trainer a sour look at the lack of sweets for herself, Ciel skewered another marshmallow for her.

"I suppose I owe you two an explanation." Zuki let out a long sigh, bringing the boys to attention. "I mentioned before that I ran away from my home in Ecruteak, hence why my bodyguards were so eager to find me. My mother is the matriarch of the Dento family, which has owned Ecruteak's Kimono Dance Theater for over forty generations. The boys born in the family are free to pursue their own interests and leave the house as they become adults. But the girls… they are sequestered within the Dento house, fated to train their entire lives as dancers to fulfill the family's traditional role as performers."

Ciel's eyes drifted down to her clothing. She sat with her legs folded under themselves, her feet and sandals facing upwards. Her posture was stiff, her back was straight, and for as long as they'd traveled together, he'd never seen her wearing a different outfit. She carried with her a large bag sealed with a ribbon, which he assumed held sets of spare clothing. It must have only had multiple copies of the same full kimono set.

"I've been dancing for at least thirteen years, since I was five, and I'd only left my hometown a single time for a rare traveling performance. My mother strictly planned my schedule, my eating habits, my practice time, and even my social time with friends and my sisters. I don't hate dancing but knowing that I've never really had a choice has made me want to see more."

She stared at the marshmallow, which had cooled as she spoke, and took a small bite. Her face lit up. "Like this! This is what I've wanted to experience. It's so  _pedestrian_ , but I can't remember the last time I ate something so pleasurable. There's an entire half, maybe more, of a world that I've been disconnected to for so long because it's not proper and not fit for someone tasked with fulfilling the traditions of the Dento family. Speaking of, what is this thing even made of?"

"It's just sugar," Ciel told her. "Nothing else."

Zuki pulled the remainder of the gooey, toasted item from the skewer and threw the entire thing down her gullet. She swallowed—after struggling to push the nearly-whole marshmallow down her throat—and smiled. She coughed. "If sugar alone can make me happy, I want  _more_."

Ciel realized what their movement north meant. "We're heading to Ecruteak, aren't we?"

"I mean, we don't have to. We could detour around the city and move on, since we don't have to face Gyms in a certain order to win the Gym Challenge," said Brent. "I don't want to cause you any harm by putting you back where you ran from."

"No." Zuki's words were authoritative Even outside a theater, she commanded attention like a dancer on stage when she wanted to. "I had a conversation while you two participated in that tournament that told me something about myself. Continuously, I haven't been able to stand up for myself and I've left it to others. Well, if I'm going to experience the world on my terms, I need to confront my mother and make it clear that I won't stand to be ordered by her further."

Zuki stood from her position and held a fist tight. "We're going to Ecruteak. We all have business there, and we're going to complete it."

The two boys nodded. "Right."

"All three of us have a family problem, huh? I'll put on another round of marshmallows in the name of twisted genealogy.!" announced Brent. "We three few are on our way to make everything better, and we need sugar to keep our energy up."

Ciel laughed out loud. It might have been the first time in over half a decade that he had a positive thought in relation to his father. He put more treats on for the rest of his Pokemon and focused on letting them cook.

* * *

"You see that old lady? The one with the oversized handbag?"

Silver followed the girl's pointed finger. Sure enough, an old crone waddled slowly down a crosswalk. The stoplight had already switched from red to blue and vehicles aggressively honked all around the woman. It wasn't making her walk any faster, but the cars trying to force their way around threatened to run her down.

The girl crossed her arms. "Go help her."

"What kind of fucking cliché garbage is this?" Silver sneered. "How's this supposed to help me become a stronger trainer and defeat the Rockets? This is just menial busywork."

"What I say goes, Silver," she stated bluntly. "This is my training, and if you don't follow it, you aren't getting your Pokemon back. We made that clear when you started tagging along."

He turned his head to the moron, who also had his arms crossed. Silver felt like he was being ganged up on again, and he was still no closer to stopping the Rockets. If he had found another way to heal his Pokemon after the fight in the well, he could have easily continued training as normal. Instead, he intentionally threw himself a roadblock, and now he hadn't battled with  _his_ Croconaw in over a month. The volume of honks ballooned, and the girl issued a resolute, "I'm waiting."

Silver clenched his fists, shook his head, and took off down the street. Using his height to his advantage, he jumped over one small compact, then he weaved through a few more vehicles to reach the old woman. Among the cacophony, neither of them could hear each other's voices, but he signaled her to follow him. He offered her his arms, with which she was able to walk faster due to the extra support. The lady crossed safely, and as he was about to turn around to make his dissatisfaction clear to the two, the woman handed him a ₽500 coin.

Silver looked at the coin, then at her face, then back at the coin. The old lady insisted. He hesitantly pocketed the coin and watched the geezer waddle away, not a care in the world. Silver planted himself on the ground with a huff.

The two halfwits themselves crossed the street on the next traffic cycle. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it? You even got a gift," she said. "You should hid your face. We don't know if the police are still looking for you or not."

"Wait, why is  _he_ getting paid? I don't get paid when I help people on the street," the moron whined.

"Offering to carry someone's Houndour that can easily walk itself isn't an act of goodwill. You just wanted to pet it," she countered.

He muttered under his breath, "good boys deserve to be spoiled."

Silver ignored them and pulled up his hood. Hearing their voices and bickering was grating, and he just wanted to get over with whatever stupid "training" they had left that day. They crossed an alley leading to a dead end, and upon noticing it was filled with strewn garbage despite a nearby dumpster, Silver began to walk faster. At this point, he knew her well enough...

"Hey, Silver, get over here." She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and undid her overall straps, just as she'd done in Slowpoke Well. "We've got some work to do."

Silver spent the next few hours picking up trash. Gruelingly, annoyedly, grumpily picking up nasty garbage. He spent almost three years scrounging around in dumpsters after the Rockets kicked him out, but it didn't make him an expert in this kind of stuff. The girl was trying to punish him. He wiped the midsummer heat from his brow.

Silver picked up a torn trash bag, which spilled all its contents onto the ground. A whole Rattata fell out and hissed at him, but he shooed the purple rodent away. It just hissed at him again, so he tossed an empty food can, which was enough to cause it to scurry away.

He finished one section of the alleyway and moved slowly along the wall. This put him right next to  _the girl._ She was the worst part of this stupid "training" regimine. Rarely did she exclude herself from the tasks she assigned Silver and looking at her doing the same tasks made him boil inside. She was  _mocking_  him. In no way did he need help to do menial shit, so her coddling him made him want to punch her stupid, puffy face.

But he never did. Instead, he just continued picking up trash, pitching it into the dumpster behind them. He was beginning to pant heavily and realized that he hadn't sat down for a break since they began cleaning. The heat was getting to him.

He saw her struggling to lift a partly broken rocking chair. She heaved once, twice, three times, before setting it back down. It was only moving a couple of inches at a time. "Hey, Silver, you're tall and strong, right? Help me out with this."

Silently, he grabbed the chair and lifted. It was awkward and unwieldy, but he managed to find a comfortable position to walk it back to the dumpster. The girl shouted a "thank you" at him before returning to work. He flipped her off when she wasn't looking.

The baseball cap idiot reappeared, also short of breath, and Silver never even noticed he'd left. Scrapes were visible on his shins and elbows, but he held in his hands two drink cans with a third balanced perfectly on his head. "Hey, I bought us all some drinks. This one's a scorcher, huh?"

The girl pushed herself to a stand and stared curiously at her friend. "There's a vending machine on every street corner in this city, so what gives? You were gone, like, twenty minutes."

"Oh, the first machine was broken. The second one was also broken, but somebody left some ₽200 coins in the return slot. That was good, because I didn't actually bring any money when I went for drinks. There were some suspicious people in masks robbing the third one, so I just skipped that block. The fourth one broke  _while_  I was using it, and I physically busted the fifth one by skip-trip-rolling into it like a bowling ball. So yeah." He held up the two in his hands. "Lemonade!"

Silver swiped one as fast as he finished his explanation and downed half of it in a single swig. A content sight passed his lips as he dropped to his rear by a now-clean wall. No one bothered him for five minutes as he sat and finished his drink. It was nice.

"We've done most of it so far," the girl said finally as she surveyed the alleyway. They had moved slowly down the block and were nearing the exit onto the opposite street. "If we speed ourselves up, we can get done in thirty minutes. Gold, call out your Pokemon. We didn't do any training today, so this'll make up for it."

"Yes, sir!" he confirmed with a salute.

Both trainers released their Pokemon. In a row, six bodies materialized, all ready for action. The moron's Bayleef revealed her yellow coat as the materialization beam's red disappeared. Her body was a lot bulkier due to its evolution and regularly bodied her trainer when trying to show physical affection. Obviously, it hadn't adapted to its own size, unlike his Croconaw.

The Togepi and the Slowpoke he owned also got to work moving small objects, while that Spinarak gave them extra support by hanging along the wall and pulling upwards on heavier items with shot webbing. The moron twisted his cap around and began directing the creatures like a ship captain. The girl's Sunflora marveled at the existence of its own limbs-flexible leaves, more like. Its own evolution had sprouted a full body underneath its ovular head, though it hadn't fixed the creepy, unmoving smile. It rejoiced by waving its leaves around every time it tossed a piece of detritus into the open dumpster.

Someone had tossed a couch near the end of the alleyway, and when Silver approached to move it, it was lifted out from under him single-handedly by her Marill. It casually walked the piece of furniture over to the dumpster, supported only by a single of its hand nubs. Silver crossed his arms and grumbled at being outdone. Even more so, he hated not having his own Pokemon to help.

The team of nine completed their remaining work within the predicted thirty. The team heaved one last piece of metal scrap into the nearly-bursting dumpster, and everyone besides him cheered.

"Good work, everybody. Let's all head back to the Pokemon Center and get washed up to eat." She patted Silver on the back as she passed. "Thanks for all the help. I'm a bit too small to handle the big stuff."

She, the cap moron, and their Pokemon all walked triumphantly onto the street like a sports team celebrating victory. Silver took a few moments to breathe and convince himself that it was making him a stronger trainer. However, that excuse was beginning to weaken. He wasn't sure how much longer it would last.

* * *

Click.

"No, that one doesn't get my hair right. Needs to be spikier," Ciel said as he ran a hand through his scalp.

Click.

"I blinked in that one. Do it again," Brent complained. "I have to look good to send it to my mom."

Click.

"You covered my face with those victory signs of yours." Zuki herself snatched the Poke GEAR right off Ciel's wrist and without warning snapped one final picture.

Click.

A massive weight on Ciel's head caused him to fall backwards to the ground. The culprit fluttered to correct himself before landing beside his trainer's head. Clovis pecked his nose. "You are  _way_  too big to be doing that now. You're going to break my neck."

Clovis puffed his chest feathers. Evolving into Pidgeotto caused his plumage to enlarge and he'd grown more distinct areas of color along his crest and tail. Obviously, he must be royalty with a beautiful coat such as his, and it led him to flaunt his appearance at every possible moment. A heavy  _and_ vain bird was all Ciel needed.

He groaned and sat up. "How's the picture?"

Zuki handed him back the Poke GEAR with the screen still open to his photo gallery. "Aside from you being about to fall over, it's serviceable."

"I'm sure Gold and Crystal will get a kick out of it," he said "He attached it to a text message to the former saying that they were on the way to the National Park and hit send. Having an actual phone was a convenience he wasn't sure how he lived without.

"Do you even have a Poke GEAR, Brent?" asked Ciel. "I've been meaning to ask for your phone number, but we've been traveling together since Azalea."

Brent pulled a device out of his pocket. It looked like the face of a watch with a large piece extending below it. "Only this old piece of junk. It's all my mom could afford a while ago, but even though she's gotten more money, I've kept it. It's got some sentimental value."

The two exchanged numbers and Ciel attached the same photo in another text to Brent. As he exited the texting application, a notification flashed on the front page. A single missed call with the name "Daku" blinked to draw attention. A voicemail was attached. Ciel hovered his finger over it.

"Ciel, are you coming? The National Park isn't much further and we can probably find someplace to stay tonight there," called Brent, who had begun to walk ahead.

Ciel clamped his Poke GEAR closed and smiled. "Right behind you."

The approach to the natural park led them into progressively denser forests. The trees grew taller and the ground foliage exploded. A combination of the summer heat and ambient insect buzzing disturbed the atmosphere He rubbed his eyes when he noticed the contours of each tree vibrate. A sweat crept up on him. Ciel adjusted his collar to hopefully let some air in, but to no avail. It was getting to him.

"Zuki, aren't you hot in your dress?" Brent posed to the Kimono Girl. "I'm dying out here, but you're in way more layers than I am."

"As a matter of fact, I'm not," she said. "Our kimonos are specially designed for optimal airflow to prevent overheating while dancing. Not that I have a choice of wardrobe at the moment, but I'm actually quite comfortable."

"Lucky," Ciel mumbled while rolling up his sleeves. Tucking them into the torso fashioned a makeshift sleeveless shirt. In the moment, he had a better idea. "Hey, Clovis! Do you remember that move that Falkner's Pidgeotto did to mess with the air currents? It was called Tailwind."

Clovis, who had been hovering beside them and dodging between the trees, cocked his head. He chirped-more like squawked, since his "voice" had deepened-but showed no sign of understanding.

"Oh, right, you didn't really see that move. Just try to, you know…" Ciel flapped his own arms back and forth. "Like this, right?"

"You look like a moron," Brent said.

"A moron with a mission," Ciel replied, still flapping his arms.

Clovis took up his suggestion and beat his wings as hard as possible. Ciel was almost knocked off his feet by the force of his evolved Pokemon's motion. They were too concentrated, much more like Gust than Tailwind. "Hey, Clovis, you need to slow down and spread your beating out further!" Ciel shouted over the wind.

His Pidgeotto attempted to change course, but one of his wings punched into a tree's trunk. With an exclamation, the bird Pokemon spiraled to the forest floor, only barely catching his own fall and landing on his talons. He looked Ciel and complained. The trainer shrugged.

"Ciel, I think your Pidgeotto flapped a little too hard," said Brent. His hair had been blown into a complete mess, as had Zuki's. She was struggling to rearrange her hair ornaments to return herself to some semblance and propriety.

Ciel scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he said. "On the plus side, I feel cool and refreshed."

The buzzing was getting louder. After long enough, Ciel could barely hear his own thoughts. Ledyba crawling up and down each tree probably contributed to the cacophony as the red-backed creates took off and landed repeatedly. Clovis pecked at a few, but there were too many to bother. A Yanma floated in front of him, but he swatted it away.

"Heeeeeeeeeelp! Heeeeeeeeeelp!" A cry echoed through the dense forest. All of them could make it out within the insect chorus. Ciel hesitated at the shout.

However, Brent had already broken into a jog. "Time to be a hero," he said. Ciel and Zuki were almost left behind.

* * *

The three of them arrived promptly at the scene of the trouble with Brent seconds faster. He and Ciel had their partners at the ready. Raven angled her scythe-ear forward, but immediately she was thrown off by the amassed vibrations around them. Sentret wasn't faring much better due to the size of its ears.

"Oh no, this is bad bad bad bad bad badbadbadbadbadbadbad! Everything is going wrong!" expressed a man in a red suit, white gloves, and prim hat. He adjusted his gloves repeatedly, slipping them on and off his fingers, and paced in front of a small fountain. "This just won't do, this certainly won't do! The Bug-Catching Contest cannot begin in this state, and the manager will kill me!"

"Well, this is familiar," Ciel said.

"What do you mean?" asked Brent.

"Don't worry about it. Hey, bellhop guy, what's going on here?"

The man crossed the distance in an instant to kneel before them and tug at their shirts. "Oh please, sirs! Some of the Bug Pokemon are on a rampage and they're destroying the National Park! The Bug-Catching contest was supposed to be today."

"I need someone to stop the rampaging Pokemon so the contest can go on. You will help me, yes? Oh, thank you!" The man abruptly stood up and began bowing indefinitely. Ciel and Brent both tilted their heads to follow the movement of the man's torso.

Brent shrugged, and said, "well, you heard the man." He withdrew a Poke Ball from his pocket. "If this is a Bug-Catching Content, we better do just that."

"I'll see if I can calm the poor man down in the meantime," said Zuki.

The two trainers launched off into the National Park with their partner Pokemon jogging aside them. Unlike the untamed forest outside, the park looked meticulously kept. They sprinted the length of an arced bridged crossing a creek before finding themselves following a curved sidewalk. Streetlights passed them at regular intervals on the right, while their left was populated by bushes taller than he was that stretched as far as he could see down the path. Was the whole park organized as a circle?

"I'm not seeing any rampaging insects, Ciel," called Brent behind him. "In fact, everything here looks scared. That's probably what's causing all the buzzing."

Ciel cast his eyes over the sea of bushes. Flashes of yellow, red, and purple caught his eye. Sunkern, Ledyba, and Spinarak cowered within the bushes, trying to find cover from  _something._  A few stragglers on the paths darted back into the bushes as they passed.

Ciel spied a fallen tree to his right. Its center was completely splintered, leaving its top half to topple backwards into the grass. Ciel guessed it must have been hit with some insane force to cause that kind of destruction.

"I need you to do some recon, Clovis," he shouted to the Flying-type. "Some Pokemon are causing trouble here but the grasses are too tall. Can you check it out?"

His Pidgeotto gave him an affirming squawk before firing off across the park. The trainers continued along the path and Ciel popped open his Poke GEAR. "I'm searching through my Pokedex, but it's hard to narrow down a Pokemon to 'it punches trees really hard.' Any suggestions?"

Brent thought for a moment. His breathing was labored from their run. "I did a class on Johtoan ecology last year in college. Around this area, you get big colonies of things like Pinsir and Scyther that get steamed around mating time. I don't think they have a specific season, so you have to be prepared whenever. It could also be Vespiquen. Apparently, they're an invasive species here and can bully some of the natural species, but I don't think Vespiquen can punch a tree into exploding."

"At least we have a few options. Get ready for a passenger, Raven," he called to his partner. He released another Pokemon, this time aiming Arden's Poke Ball at his partner's back. The beam landed against her fur and materialized into his Quilava. Arden nearly fell off the moving perch but managed to steady himself atop his mount. The rodent Pokemon shot him a knowing glance before igniting to full power.

A signal from the sky altered him to Clovis circling ahead, trying to get their attention. He nodded, Brent agreed, and their entire party jumped into the brush. Raven bucked her rear to launch Arden into the air and Clovis swooped down to grab the rodent within his talons. Ciel hadn't even considered it, so he thanked his Pokemon for avoiding contact between Arden's flames and the park's greenery.

Brent took the lead as they swatted their way past the bushes. Ahead of him, his Sentret swung its tail forward to clear their path, but Ciel still felt his clothing getting snagged on various branches. Among the buzzing, he made out a metallic clanging, not unlike Westwood's Pawniard in the tournament. Whatever it was, it was close.

The trainers burst from the bushes into an open central mall of the National Park where a gargantuan, multilayered fountain stood. They had barely a moment to admire it before the collision of two Pokemon utterly shattered the fountain's spout in a shower of water and debris.

"Whoa!" shouted Brent, bracing himself. Ciel shielded himself from some flying stones with his forearms and felt his entire body nearly flung off his feet from the shockwave.

They finally had a clear view of the quarreling creatures. To his right a Scyther flared its wings in fury. He'd seen the creature before in some televised battles; its body was mostly green and humanoid in shape, but most of its parts were segmented between rounded joints and thin connective pieces. Its forearms terminated in massive blades and the owner made their current target clear.

A rounded blue Pokemon was the opponent. It had powerful, plated limbs and a horn as long as its whole body. The only thing to break up its sandy blue plating was a pair of beady, golden eyes fixated solely on the opposite Pokemon. Ciel didn't recognize it. Was it rare?

"Heracross," Brent said. "They're passive. They don't start fights, but they do end them. The Scyther must have done something to piss it off."

The warring Pokemon clashed. A wide swing from the Scyther's claws prompted the Heracross to put up its front limbs in defense. The force of the swing sent it spiraling in their direction.

"Raven, use Slash to knock it out of the way!" Ciel ordered.

His partner hopped into the air and swung her sickle wide. The weapon collided with the Heracross's body in a resounding clang to redirect its momentum a few meters away, where it crashed into the ground. Immediately it returned to its feet and took flight to resume the fight. The trainers and their Pokemon were completely ignored.

"Is  _that_ the thing that punched the tree?" Ciel asked with an incredulous look.

Brent didn't answer. The question was rhetorical anyway, since the Scyther would have left clean cuts in its own destruction. "Ciel, you need to get your Quilava up into the air to rain pressure on both of them. Get him above the spout of the busted fountain," Brent ordered.

Ciel blinked. "Err, right." He relayed the command to Clovis, who circled upwards with Arden held firmly in his talons. Once they reached the desired altitude, his Quilava began firing Embers down between the brawling insects. The beasts were caught by surprise and reeled back, but neither of them diverted the attention from their enemies and immediately resumed parley. If anything, that was a blessing. 'Keep peppering them, Arden! They won't come after you!"

Arden launched Embers at the warring parties, washing them over with flames. Unfortunately, neither side seemed bothered by the attack because the beating of their wings snuffed major areas from catching. Still, he began to wear them down. As they clashed again, he could see exhaustion in both parties.

Brent shouted, "Sentret, use Sucker Punch!"

His partner launched off its tail to cross the fountain. It deftly landed on its feet atop the crumbling fountain. Scyther and Heracross charged. Sentret was caught in the middle.

The small mammal propped itself up on its tail, knocking dust off the fountain's spire as it did so. The charging Pokemon maintained their momentum, ignoring the obstruction. They were going to annihilate it between their clashing weapons. The Scyther reeled back a blade; the Heracross drew back a fist.

Sentret ducked, and both Pokemon clashed in the middle with another shockwave. Brent's Sentret barely swept under the clash. The Scyther's weapon dug into the Heracross's shoulder-the wound dripped a sickly yellow liquid. Comparatively, one half of the Scyther's entire exoskeleton had cracked from a devastating punch to its chest.

With the Pokemon locked with each other, Brent's partner took its opportunity and swiftly delivered two gut punches to both combatant's abdomens. Ciel watched in shock as the raging insects fell limply into the fountain water.

Brent grunted and tossed a Great Ball into the fountain. The capsule clicked open and dematerialized the Heracross before falling into the water itself. They couldn't see the object over the rim of the fountain, but after ten seconds, they knew it had been caught.

The Scyther, surprisingly, managed to rouse itself enough to begin a weakened retreat. Ciel waved his arm up at the circling duo, causing Arden to land an Ember dead between the Bug-type's wings. It fell flat onto the ground and Ciel tossed his own Poke Ball to the creature, which shook to a standstill.

He turned to Brent, who was fishing his new capture out of the pond. "That was amazing, man! You put a lot of faith in your partner."

"I have to," Brent asserted, "or else we won't be able to be heroes together."

Ciel roughly tumbled to a sitting position on the ground, exhausted by the jog, the heat, and the stressful situation. "You really do want to be a hero, huh? How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, just jump into action like that? I had a lump in my throat the whole time, but you never even slowed down." Ciel swallowed said lump, realizing he'd been holding in some breaths as well. He examined the information panel on his Poke Ball, displaying "SCYTHER" and a male sex symbol.

Brent sat down as well, and the two trainers stared at each other. "I don't know. It's never really felt like I've had to overcome anything. If something needs doing, I just do it."

Ciel sighed. "I offered to help Gold and Crystal if they ever needed to face the Rockets, but now that I think about it, I don't know if I'll have the guts to go through with it." He scratched at the cut on his neck. It had scarred, not healed, and was still a little raw.

"Don't worry about it. Just putting yourself out there means a lot, too."

Ciel knew he looked up to Brent, but he was also depending on him so much for his own goal. That Ciel wanted to protect people he loved was built off Brent's own goal to be a hero. But Brent held his goal closer to his heart than he did and could act on it without hesitation. Even Zuki suggested that she was going to throw herself forward in front of her mother to grow as a person. How could Ciel learn to do the same if he had to wait for his friend to lead them forward?

"Hey, are you doing okay, Ciel?" he asked.

Ciel snapped out of it and shook his head. "I'm fine. Just too much excitement for one afternoon."

Brent's Sentret landed beside them in the grass after jumping from the fountain. It shined brilliantly. Ciel shielded his eyes as the sudden evolution radiated around Sentret's small body. The amorphous white mass exploded in length, spontaneously developing bushy fur around the tail that made its whole form seem continuous. Its ears and limbs also altered in shape, and it appeared to Ciel that the Sentret's forearms became noticeable smaller with the change.

Brent managed to catch his partner just in time as the evolution dissipated. The new form of Furret lied exhausted in his arms.

"I can't believe it, buddy! You're a Furret now! I'm so proud of you," Brent said. The trainer gently scratched between his partner's ears to soothe the Pokemon as it adapted to its new body.

Zuki and the park manager found their way to the pair of trainers after a couple of minutes. The poor man was still melting down, but at least seemed relieved that the two Pokemon were contained. Brent proposed to him that they needed to trade the newly captured insects to the manager's account because they were caught in a protected area, but the manager insisted otherwise.

"I hereby deputize you two fine fellows as having taken part in the Bug-Catching Contest! This way, your catching of these two creatures is considered legal and within the quota of the National Park's jurisdiction." He began to break down into tears again. "But this mess is going to take a while to clean up."

"Are you sure you don't want us to stay to help?" Brent asked immediately. Ciel once again felt his heart drop that his friend jumped to help before he did.

"No, no, no, no, that won't be necessary. You've been a big help already, yes? Just be on your way and leave this to the Park authorities" the manager replied.

"If you're sure," muttered Ciel. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any healing supplies around, would you? His Pokemon just evolved and could use the help."

"Yes, yes, yes, of course!" the man shouted. He adjusted his jacket and cap and puffed out his chest, as if trying to return a sense of authority to himself. "I could whip up a nutrient mixture from the berries and apricorns native to the park in no time. You could stay and rest for the night in my cabin!"

Ciel looked to the other two for confirmation. Zuki spoke up. "We'll need to get some rest before we get to Ecruteak. It's still another week on foot, and some hospitality would be nice."

"You heard the girl, Ciel," Brent said. "Let's just take some rest and relaxation when we can find it, especially since we've got some big stuff to deal with when we hit the city."

Ciel nodded, and the three followed the park manager back to his cabin. Still, he couldn't keep his mind off Brent. When they first met, he looked up to the man as a role model. A good one. But, now, doing so left him feeling like he wasn't enough of his own person with his own goals. He needed to find a way to drive himself as a trainer, a way to internalize his objective.

An idea struck him, one he played with in his mind as they relaxed through the afternoon. He couldn't tell if it would help him, but the more he thought on it, the more he thought it was the right decision. Once they got to Ecruteak, he'd make his choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Endgame.**
> 
> **(No spoilers ahead. Didn't mean to scare you.)**
> 
> **I was absolutely blown away. Seriously. I love long-form storytelling, the ability to convincingly tell a narrative over hundreds of thousands of words, or in this case, eleven years of storytelling. Being able to bring such a realized world dripping with continuity and life to a satisfying conclusion leaves me satisfied beyond my imagination. I cannot recommend it enough. Go see this movie.**
> 
> **I was debated cutting this chapter from the story to counter some previous extensions, hence why the last chapter originally said "Every Man's Own Way" came next. Had it been cut, they would have gone right to Ecruteak, but I felt like I needed some setup for things to come and I wanted a little more travel elements to balance out the fact that the characters had been in the same place for the past five chapters. This chapter was originally titled "Perfect Synergy", but I renamed it considering the number of evolutions referenced here.**
> 
> **By the way, Gold is my favorite character in this story. Every piece of dialogue I write with him is a hoot.**
> 
> **Next time, the conclusion to the first story arc, Chapter 17: Every Man's Own Way. Stay tuned!**


	17. Every Man's Own Way

"Use Tailwind!" Ciel shouted.

A beat of Clovis's wings gave him clarity in battle. His opponents manifested themselves within the clearing fog. A blond-haired man with a headband and scarf remained partially obscured by the wisps. The rest of his clothing was out-of-place—a nice turtleneck and khakis—which only made his association with the occult more unsettling.

"Hypnosis," Morty ordered with repose. He waved his arm gracefully, as if directly controlling his Pokémon like a marionette.

The gaseous Pokémon concentrated its hands together and its vapor shifted from purple to an eerie pink. It pulsed, matched by a pulse of pain through Ciel's head. Pink-colored energies tended to be associated with the Psychic-type, so his choice was clear.

"Clovis, return!" he shouted as he tapped the button of his Poké Ball. His Pidgeotto dematerialized, and he quickly released another Pokémon to the field.

Annular waves discharged from the Haunter's hands and washed over the materializing form of his Absol. Raven stood tall as the Psychic blast passed directly through her. Ciel felt himself grow slightly drowsy, but she shook his head vigorously to bring himself back to reality.

He cast a smirk forward, met by a simple bored smirk from Morty. Until he beat Whitney, he kept finding himself nervous in the face of the Gym Challenge How could he, an amateur, ever hope to match some of the region's most powerful trainers? He knew the answer to that now. The blond man bore into him with bags under his eyes. "Look, I'm having an off day and I can kinda tell how this battle is gonna go. Can we wrap this up, kid?"

This battle was his. He'd been practicing for months since he left home and had real competitive experience from the Goldenrod Showdown under his belt. Plus, the massive type advantage the Dark type afforded him would make Raven nearly untouchable. He threw his arm forward to command. "Night Slash."

Ciel felt power in his own leg muscles as a flash of white bounded to cross the arena. Dark-type energy coated her sickle. She torqued her entire body into her swing as the leapt into the air, driving the devastating blow into the Haunter's side. Not even Morty's call to evade was fast enough to dodge the blow, as the Tailwind at Raven's back further boosted her speed. The blade tore right through the Haunter in a clean cut, leaving the Ghost type to collapse on the floor. It's body flickered and a few of its gases threatened to escape, but it was recalled to its capsule to prevent any further harm.

The referee commanded silently from a sidelined position, partially obscured by the mist. She was an ancient-looking woman, eyes seemingly blind, but she waved her items to guide battle all the same. For the switching period, she waved a set of yellow prayer beads. Ciel knew what it meant by that point.

Morty's next Pokémon was a second Haunter. Ciel flicked his nose and ordered another Night Slash.

"Vanish!" shouted Morty.

Raven's attack sliced through nothingness, leaving her on guard. "Use your nose. It's made of gas, so it probably has a smell attached!" he said. The visible figures on the battlefield waited in tense silence until Ciel noticed that Raven's own shadow, cast by torches of flame rising through the fog, began to distort. He ordered, "Detect!"

His partner disappeared herself just as the Haunter raked a claw through the afterimage. In an instant she returned to the battlefield and delivered another finishing blow with her weapon.

Morty sighed while switching his Pokémon once again. This time another shadowy figure emerged, but even more corporeal than the previous. The rounded figure had a simple single color, short legs, spiked protrusions from its head region, and an eerie cheshire smile. It was Gengar, the final stage of evolution of Gastly's species. A wide-eyed younger Ciel used to rewatch a World Trial battle featuring a Gengar and Nidorino shown often on public TV. It was iconic.

"Night Slash!" Ciel shouted for a third time.

Raven met Morty's Gengar in a clash as the wide-smiling creature clamped its jaws down onto the blade to stop its momentum. The scene of Pryce's Piloswine running her through with the same move rahis mind and caused him to act. Her Dark-type energy still lingered in her blade. "Raven, roll along the ground to shake it off!"

"Shadow Ball," called Morty, causing his Pokémon to hold together its hands above its head. A sickly, globbed ball of darkness began to amass.

Before it could complete the attack, the Absol powered her muscles and twisted both connected bodies across the creaking boardwalk of the Mahogany Gym. With Gengar's teeth directly connected to a super-effective attack, its two choices were to allow itself to roll to avoid the sickle tearing into its cheeks or to let go. The latter option proved safer, and Raven barrel rolled into a battle stance once her opponent released pressure on her weapon. Morty's Gengar misfired its Shadow Ball into the fog.

Ciel threw out his arm. "Finish it. Quick Attack to Night Slash."

The barely recovered Gengar had few moments to react before it was cut clean through. Raven landed on her feet on the other side as Morty's Gengar collapsed to the ground. The referee jubilantly tossed a set of blue beads into the air.

Around them, the fog that had permeated the room was slowly flushed away by a series of high-powered fans along the wall of the Gym. The entire facility was similar to the one in Violet; the building was a wooden structure in the style of traditional architecture where the base extended a floor below ground-level. A creaky boardwalk leading to the Gym platform composed the upper level, with a net hanging below to catch fallers.

Ciel shook Morty's hand in the middle of the arena. The bored-looking man passed him the Fog Badge and a pile of notes, which Ciel promptly arranged in his badge case and wallet, respectively.

"Alright, kid. Get out of here. I'm heading to my office to pass out before the League scolds me at a check-in meeting. Later." Morty slowly crossed the remaining boardwalk to a backroom at the far end of the Gym. Ciel and Raven took their own leaves and crossed back into the land of the living.

Ciel drunk in a world of amber. It was July, yet every tree in the city wore their autumn colors; he saw a paradise of a transient feeling, but he was told it never faded. The evening sky matched the average hue of the trees, blurring the horizon.

Like Violet, much of the city's architecture was traditional. As he walked through the streets towards the Pokémon Center, he admired the various tiled buildings. A tower to the north rose above the rest, hiding the falling sun.

"You did great in there, Raven. Not even a scratch on you, right?" he asked his partner. "You're getting stronger than we both know."

She raised her head and trotted proudly along the worn cobblestone path. A real warrior, she was, ready at a moment's notice to face the next challenge. When he felt her own movements in his body, he knew a connected existed between the two that didn't exist prior. Ciel knew it was the result of their travel; the Gym Challenge is a trial by fire, forging bonds with each step.

The same could be said for his other Pokémon as well. He released his other three Poké Balls and summoned his Quilava, Pidgeotto, and Rhyhorn. They quickly fell into their usual traveling spots-Arden still fit on Raven's back, while Clovis took to perching himself on some of Hector's protruding spines. Though the plating had begun to grow back since the Showdown, Clovis was taking care not to dig into Hector's raw flesh. If only the bird was that considerate about Ciel's cranium.

The choice. He'd been awake thinking about it every night since the incident at the National Park. It was a simple decision; he could make it with a few words and a wave. However, he didn't know if he had the fortitude to carry it through. It would set him back to where he began. His journey would be far more dangerous. It scared him to make the choice.

A shadow engulfed Ciel's entire body. He turned to his right and craned his head towards the sky. It was the tower he spied at a distance, a monolithic pagoda, of which Ciel counted nine roof layers. Standing at the base was a gate with faded words etched upon its wood surface in Johtoan script. "Barrier Station," it read. "No passage to the unworthy" was inscribed below it. Ciel wanted to climb to its spire and stare out over the world, but his doubts told him he wasn't worthy.

His wrist rang as he began walking again. He popped open his Poké GEAR and a call from his mother appeared on the top screen. His face lit up, washing away his internal queries, and he answered without hesitation. "Hey, Mom!"

" _Hey there, honey! How've you been?"_  Her face appeared on the screen, bright and cheerful. Evening clouds moved past her told him that she was walking home from work at the Gym.

"Like a Psyduck on cloud nine," he said. He retrieved the Fog Badge and flashed it in front of the camera. "Raven and I just beat Morty. See?"

" _I'm amazed! He's usually pretty tricky with disappearing, possession, status moves, that kind of thing. I had to battle each of the other Gym Leaders leading up to my appointment. He wasn't fun, to say the least."_

Possession? A chill ran up Ciel's spine. He was glad for Morty's dragging attitude if it meant he hadn't the energy to try to  _possess_ some of his Pokémon. "Well, Raven's type advantage really helped, but I'm banking on our team synergy as being the decisive factor."

" _A bit of positivity is always good, kiddo. Just don't let it go to your head, alright? Type matchups aren't the be-all-end-all of Pokémon battling, so you can't rely on them forever. After all, Gym Leaders all specialize in types but still regularly outmaneuver opponents, even at a technical disadvantage."_

"I won't get big-headed, Mom. Don't worry. The only one here with a bit of an ego is Raven." He kept focused on the screen but heard an indignant snarl to his right.

A ring caught his attention and another call popped up on screen. He wasn't expecting anyone else to call, and he didn't recognize the number.

" _What's the matter, honey?"_  his mother asked.

"I'm getting another call. Could I call you back later?"

"Of course. I don't want to keep you from whatever you're doing, just checking to make sure you're still alive. Go be the person you want to be." She smiled. "I love you, Ciel."

"I love you, Mom," he said, before hanging up the phone in favor of the incoming call. He didn't have a name attached to the number in his contacts, so he had no choice but to answer to find out. He hoped it wasn't a telemarketer.

" _Hallå!"_  chirped a girl's voice. Her face appeared on the screen after a slight delay.  _"Are you ready for our rematch yet?"_

"Kris?" Ciel's eyes went wide. He had completely forgotten she added her phone number after their tournament battle because the whole second day blurred together. Nor had he ever expected her to call him, for that matter. He thought it was just a pleasantry.

" _Hälsningar från Sinnohregionen!"_  she said in an unfamiliar language.

"What does that mean?" Ciel asked.

" _It means hello from Sinnoh, silly. It's the place where even in the middle of summer it's still a chilly mess. I'm all bundled up and everything."_

He was starting to sweat. He had no idea how to talk to this girl, especially since all of their previous interactions boiled down to him embarrassing himself or Gold doing it for him. "Why did you call me?" he asked.

" _Like I just said, I want to know if you're ready for our rematch yet. I'm fired up to battle you again."_

"I can't say I am," Ciel managed with a soft laugh. Plus, I'm like 3,500, maybe 4,000 kilometers away from you. Sorry."

" _That's too bad. Our battle was really fun, even if I totally kicked your butt."_

"Gee, thanks for the compliment. Is there anything else you needed?" asked Ciel.

" _Nah, that was it. See you around!"_

She abruptly hung up, leaving him awkward and shocked in the middle of a fork in the road. He and Brent had agreed to meet at the Kimono Dancer Theater later that day, giving him time to challenge the Gym while he and Zuki grabbed a few things. He wasn't sure what their shopping spree had to do with confronting her mother, but he wasn't going to question the girl's decisions.

None of the roads in Ecruteak had road signs—Ciel couldn't fathom how old the settlement was if that was the case. This left him to navigate the streets using only an undetailed city map on his Poké GEAR and Raven's sensory guidance. She acted like she'd seen the theater on a previous stroll through the city, but since Ciel couldn't remember passing it himself, he assumed she was just leading him on.

He stopped someone in the street to ask for direction. "Hey, can you tell me where the dance theater is?"

They responded in Johtoan, which caught him off guard. He hadn't actually spoken his native language in quite a while, so he switched back and re-asked his question.

"You're looking for the theater?" the passerby questioned, now in Unovan with a heavy accent.

Ciel shook his head and switched languages again, fumbling and substituting some words. He was never able to go back and forth very easily and could feel gears in his own head grinding. "Yes,  _gekijō-_  err, the theater, where is that?"

The stranger he asked pointed distantly in another direction and began speaking in Johtoan again. Ciel sighed. He thanked the person in both languages and excused himself. He had a headache.

He followed his Absol around a few corners, through some crowded and nonsensical street crossings, past a long line of vendors selling street food in open air, towards some unknown destination. As he walked opposite the descending sun, the evening darkened.

They eventually stumbled upon a worn-down structure with an azure set of roofs. He wasn't even sure if he was in the right place, but a soft strum of an acoustic stringed instrument told Ciel they were in the right place. He and his Pokémon waited before the massive wooden doors to the theater.

"Ciel!" Brent called. He came trotting over across the street, with Zuki, still in full kimono, trailing behind him with a large shopping bag.

"What was it you were picking up?" he asked. "You guys took longer than my Gym Battle."

"Just a few things to make a point. And enough to last me a while if this goes according to plan," she said.

Brent spoke up "And what's your plan?"

"I don't have one. Open the door, I'm starting to get stuffy." She tugged at the collar of her kimono.

Hadn't she said before that the outfit was supposed to provide good airflow? Ciel shrugged and slowly pushed open the doors to the theater. He, his Pokémon, and his friends followed him inside.

The interior space of the Ecruteak Kimono Dance Theater was like another world—just like the Gym, it seemed to exist in a different reality from the city outside. Aside from a few lanterns to illuminate the stage, much of the building was shrouded in darkness. The contours of the walls disappeared into blackness as his eyes trailed upwards towards the roof. The building contained a flat floor laden with cushions where the audience sat in front of a raised stage. Nearly every available space in the theater was full, yet there was no noise, as every onlooker sat in respectful silence to the performance on stage.

Ciel himself kneeled on the floor to witness the performance. Four young girls, clad Zuki's own red and green, trailed in dance behind a leading figure wearing a refined black kimono. The younger dancers held similar appearance to his friend, but their accessories shined various colors—red, yellow, blue, and white. The older woman leading them had sharp, aged face, devoid of wrinkles but evident in experience, and wore an elaborate wig adorned with black accessories.

Their movements were mesmerizing. Neither Ciel nor his Pokémon could avert their gaze. The girls trailed their arms in stiff yet gently curving motions around themselves, shuffling across the floor with grace. In alternation, they fell to their knees and rose again, sometimes taking each other's hands in their own, and gracefully spinning, rotating, gyrating in hypnotic patterns across the stage. However, it was all happening slowly. There wasn't energy, yet there was-each movement appeared like the girls moved in slow-motion, yet they radiated a narrative life. All of this was accompanied by the soft strum of an acoustic guitar, or something similar, though Ciel couldn't tell from where.

Zuki took her step forward. She crossed the floor and stepped up on stage in her own kimono, standing opposite the older woman in black, her back to the crowd. The eyes of the audience landed and hovered on the intruder. She too began to dance.

Her improvised movements fell in effortlessly. She too twirled and twisted like a great wave rolling over open ocean, powerful yet serene. She married her movements to the older woman, who then kneeled and brought her hands to her face in a sorrowful motion. The remaining Kimono Girls stood behind the leader, crossing their arms across their chest, then extending and locking hands with the others, before slowly shuffling in a full circle.

This is what she meant by confronting her mother. Ciel should have known that a girl raised for dance would communicate most effective through dance. It was like they were conversing in a secret language, unknown to anyone but themselves.

Zuki then turned to face the crowd and brought her arms up to behold a nonexistent sky. Her entire kimono fell away to the floor.

Beneath the bulky robe was a complete outfit. Consisting of an achromatic skirt and blouse, topped by a golden, flower-patterned light jacket, the new clothing immediately made her the focal point of the dance. Ciel couldn't believe how suddenly the incongruous modernity of her costume change drew his eye, and now he'd completely forgotten the remainder of the Kimono Girls.

Zuki continued to dance her routine and made large strides around the other dancers. Her movements became more vigorous, yet retained the same grace, as she explored the stage outside the small world the circle of girls was confined to. The older woman returned to her own feet and fell behind Zuki as she moved. The woman offered her hands, but Zuki's movements now were too fast for them to meet.

Brent at his side was in silent attention. Sweat beaded down his head. She'd probably shared with him her intention in this performance, so he was banking on it succeeding. Ciel needed to believe it would succeed as well.

Zuki ended up in the middle of the ring and the leading woman joined the circle. The Kimono Girls released their shared grips and twirled in place before falling to the floor. On their knees, they bent forward, placing their foreheads on the wooden stage floor. The girl in the heart of the circle made one last revolution and herself met the earth. The six figures on stage were motionless.

Around them, the audience clapped. Ciel and Brent stared in wonder before joining in, the latter shouting, "that was amazing, Zuki!"

Everyone else in the theater funneled through the front door. The Kimono Girls' performances must have been completely over for the day since it was so late. Eventually, only the two trainers were left alongside the six dancers on stage. Ciel stepped up on stage to meet them but felt sick doing so as a common passerby. Was he committing a faux pas by encroaching on their shrine?

Zuki sat opposite the line of kimono girls, the black-clad woman in the center of the row. Neither spoke for a while.

"Your movements are sloppy. It's clear you haven't been practicing," said the woman in Johtoan. It was almost unrecognizable—an older dialect.

Zuki said nothing and stared at the floor. Ciel knew wanted to back away and run. He also knew she wouldn't.

"Disrespectful fool," the woman spat. Her voice pierced his own pride like an arrow even though Ciel wasn't on the receiving end. "After all I gave you, you have the gall to run from your own destiny and then come crawling back just to throw it in my face?"

"It's not-" Zuki began but was torn down by a glare. It was the language. Using Unovan common speak must have been a grave insult in a sacred house. "It's not about what you gave me, Mother," she repeated in the traditional language. "It's about what you didn't give me."

"And what wouldn't that be?" the woman asserted, raising her arms to the theater around her. "I gave you life, I gave you a fine home, I gave you purpose through dance, I gave you everything you needed. The Dento clan has provided for its own for centuries, and you respond to that by running and sending some of your best retainers back in bandages?"

Ciel stared behind them, where multiple suited men had blocked the door. One wore an arm cast, and another had large bruised cheek. More were liked up, unarmed, by their sides. Raven positioned herself between him and the men, as it was clear they were ready for a scuffle.

Zuki stood up. Her casual attire rebelled against her mother robed in the ancient past. "You haven't given me anything  _but_  your world! I love you, Mother, but I haven't even begun to discover my own world because you haven't let me!"

"Silence!" she shouted. "Your world is my world just as my world was my mothers and hers her mother's before. The Dento clan exists and thrives because of that world. You need nothing else."

"But I  _want_ something else, Mother!" Despite her objection, it was clear that Zuki was beginning to break. Ciel could see her legs shaking underneath herself. Brent was ready to rush forward to say something.

"What you want doesn't carry the traditions you are sworn to uphold. That is final. Your place is here, with your sisters."

"The sisters you stole from their own families and subjected to the same control?!" the Kimono Girl blurted out.

Silence fell over the theater. Scanning the faces of the four other girls, Ciel could see semblance of truth in her words. They weren't biological sisters—their facial structures made that clear on closer inspection, even obscured by make-up.

"Watch your tongue, girl," Zuki's mother spat. "Your sisters' pledges of loyalty have obviously proven to be more sincere than your own. They're better daughters than my own flesh and blood."

Zuki's mother slowly stood and planted herself firmly in front of her daughter. The movement was as graceful as the slap that followed. Zuki's neck snapped to the right, leaving her frozen.

"It's clear you need to be disciplined. I'm not letting you leave this theater until I decide you've earned my forgiveness. You will eat, sleep, and dance. That is all you will do until I say otherwise."

Ciel and Brent forced each other in front of Zuki and planted themselves between mother and daughter. Brent calmed Zuki, who had fallen back to one knee, while Ciel stood defensively before the older woman.

"And who would these two commoners be?" the woman asked while reading Ciel. A series of scoffs accompanied her eye movements up and down. "Simple street trash, I assume. Clearly your choice of company has deteriorated since you left. Men, please escort these  _gentlemen_ outside."

"You'd better back off, lady," said Ciel. He spoke in Unovan in protest, earning another piercing glare from the elder Kimono Girl. "She isn't bound to you, or to this theater, or to anyone."

"Yeah!" Brent shouted. "You're worse of a parent than not having one at all. If you think we're leaving this place without her, you're wrong."

The matriarch simply stepped back and waited as the goons approached them from behind. Raven, Arden, Clovis, and Hector all formed a barrier before them, each preparing an attack. Arden's ignition cast alight the theater and Clovis's wing beats stirred the stagnant air. The men continued to advance. Brent clutched Poké Balls of his own. Everyone was ready for a brawl.

" _All of you, stop it!"_ Zuki commanded. The bellow of her voice caused every figure in the theater to halt. Once again, she took center stage, and stepped past her two friends to face her mother. The goons backed away. "I'm tired of others needing to stand up for me. I'm going to say what I have to, and I'm going to make you accept it."

She cut off her mother as she was about to speak. "You have no control over me anymore. I'm an adult with her own life, her own journey, and her own friends," she said, casting her arms out to Ciel and Brent. "I won't ever give up dancing and I'll continue to maintain the legend of the Towers because they are my heritage. But I'll do it on my own terms and travel the world to learn more than I ever could cooped up in this theater. I love you, mother, but if your version of love prevents me from truly living, then I don't want to be a part of your world."

Her silent audience throughout the speech told nothing. The matriarch's face didn't change—she looked as resolute as a statue. She spoke with acid on her tongue. Yet, underneath, Ciel almost sensed a plea. "Why did you come back? If you believed your life wasn't here with your sisters and I, why return and involve yourself again?"

"Because," Zuki said, "I needed to prove I didn't run away out of fear. I ran away because I  _can_ stand against you and choose my own path. If I feared your answer, you would have never heard from me again."

"Hmm." The older woman seemed to have realized something. "I don't remember you being so bold, stupid girl. Very well. Leave."

"You mean-" Zuki gasped.

"You made your choice. This is no longer your family, so you are no longer welcome here. Take your hooligan friends and join a world of commoners who trample ancient culture." The woman walked away towards a dark back curtain of the theater. The remainder of the Kimono Girls promptly stood to follow, each casting longing glances back at the disowned girl. Their mother didn't spare one of her own.

A single tear ran down Zuki's cheek. However, she wasn't sobbing. Instead, she wiped it on her sleeve and took it in stride. Brent took her hand by her side as she broadcast to the retreating ensemble. All of them disappeared behind the curtain. "Naoko, Sayo, Kuni, Miki. I'm sorry, and I love you."

There was no answer. Once the Kimono Girls disappeared, the theater was silent.

"My traditions with me, mother," Zuki said. "The Legend of the Towers and the dance of the Kimono Girls are my duty to uphold, so I'll keep them alive in my own way."

She turned to Ciel and Brent and nodded. It was time to go. Ciel recalled all of his Pokémon except his partner and they left the antique building—the injured guards parted to let them pass and slammed the doors closed behind them.

A cool night greeted them. Aside from a gentle wind, the city was silent as the theater. The city was already asleep and the three of them were ready to join it. They collectively began moving away towards the Pokémon Center without a shared word.

Ciel didn't know how much time had passed before someone finally spoke up. It was Brent. "What do we do know?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Zuki laughed. Her and Brent's hands were still intertwined. "I'm not even sure. For the first time in my life I get to choose my own way, yet I have no idea. I think sleeping is a good first pick."

She stumbled on her left side, causing Ciel to grab her other arm to stabilize her. Her legs were going to give out soon, but that was okay. What she'd been through must have been emotionally exhausting; Ciel's encounter with his father wasn't much better.

They reached the Pokémon Center quickly. The red and white building was faded in the night, but the windows shined a homey glow. Ciel stepped back and allowed the two inside, but Brent noticed an intent behind his display and told Zuki to sit down and wait for him for a few moments. She also seemed to understand the weight behind the movement and pulled Ciel into a hug.

"Thank you for protecting me. And for being a caring friend," she said. Then, she disappeared inside the Pokémon Center. Ciel and Brent stood alone in the night.

"You seem like you have something to say. I hope you didn't forget something at the theater, because I'm not ready to get tangled up there again," joked Brent.

"I do have something to say, but…" Ciel paused. He swallowed. "would you mind meeting me at the tower later at the north side of town? I feel like it'd mean more if we went there."

"It's called the Bell Tower. Zuki told me that it's a shrine to celebrate change and passing where a powerful guardian left the world many years ago. Some go there to pray for its safe passage in the new world, but others pray for its return."

Change. Passing. It's like Brent was reading his mind. Ciel said, "I'll see you in about an hour, okay?"

"I can tell this is important to you. You didn't even need to ask." The older trainer grinned.

* * *

Ciel sat underneath the arch called Barrier Station. He closed his eyes and crossed his legs. He wasn't very religious, but he thought that maybe praying could prepare him for what he needed to say. It was part his Johtoan ancestry, after all.

He closed his eyes and shut himself out from the world. It wasn't much of a prayer. He wished for good fortune and safe passage for himself, his friends, and his Pokémon—it was a simple order, but it was all he needed. The feeling of fur rubbing against his arm brought him back to the physical world.

His Absol brushed against him a few times before curling up at his side. He scratched her head and ran a fingernail along her sickle. "Thanks for coming with me, Raven. It's been wonderful having you as a partner."

She purred. It was a rare reaction from her, something reserved for when she was truly comfortable with someone. Ciel was glad to be that person, even if they did have a rocky start after leaving New Bark.

When Brent arrived at the gate, the man offered him a hand. He grabbed it and stood up, pulling himself face to face with his friend. They stared at each other for a few moments before the older trainer smiled and withdrew a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. Opening it revealed a line of calligraphy.

"This is from Zuki. I told her we were going to the tower, so she wrote this out to allow us access and signed the Dento House seal. It's probably only good for a short while because of what happened earlier." Brent walked up to the gate and handed a gatekeeper the slip.

The man scanned it and nodded. "As representatives of the Dento House, you are worthy of entering the Bell Tower. In respect for the ancient guardians and to guard my position, I shall not accompany you. When you return, the tower should be as untouched as when you entered."

"Thank you, sir," Ciel said. The two stepped through the gate.

The path leading to the tower was blanketed in warm-colored leaves bright enough to be visible without daylight. Their feet crunched material beneath them, and as they walked away from the city, the silence deepened. Their footfalls became the only audible sounds in the area.

They stepped through the open door of the tower. Ciel craned his neck again to behold the majesty of the structure's interior; lit by sparse torches, it was a veritable maze of beams, ladders, and planks. No clear path led them upward, but Brent wasted no time and began climbing a ladder to reach the top. Ciel set Raven's Poké Ball to active to allow for easy passage to the top, but she hopped upwards onto a wooden outcropping to leap to a higher level. He shrugged and followed.

They climbed. They climbed some more. Every ladder they climbed led to a confusing labyrinth of lumber. Each touch of the wood inside the tower resonated through his body. The tower had an aura. The smell of raw wood invaded Ciel's nostrils, but he wiped his nose on his sleeve and pushed on. Their task after climbing to a higher level was finding the next ladder, or sometimes stairs or even a rope, that led higher. Ciel reasoned that the architecture was meant to prevent evil spirits from reaching the top and disturbing the guardians the tower venerated. Similar legends were attached to other Johtoan landmarks.

A single wooden pillar extended the entire height of the tower. Other supports branched from it to the far ends of each level and a small gap existed between the pillar and the flooring. Raven took to hopping and pulling herself up to each support around the central pillar, disappearing through the center of each roof to the next floor above.

"Hey, Brent, you're a trainer because you want to be a hero, right?" Ciel asked as he climbed a ladder behind the man. He kept his head forward, focusing on the bars, trying not to fall.

"Yeah," he said. He was panting from the continuous climbing. "I want myself and the Pokémon to be the strongest we can be, because that means we can save the most people. The better we get, the more we can do if we see someone in trouble."

Brent sat to rest for a few moments when he stepped from the ladder to the next level. He grabbed Ciel's hand in his own to pull him up. Their reprieve was short before they continued to climb.

"I want to be a Pokémon Trainer because I want to protect people. Isn't that the same thing?" Ciel asked.

"Do you think it's the same thing?" he asked in return.

"I… I don't know," Ciel muttered. "I think I'm basing myself too much on you, and I'm not sure what that goal really means."

"Well, that's okay, man. Maybe you just need to do some soul-searching sometime to find out how to ascribe yourself to it. Even if you don't change what you're building towards, what it means to you can change entirely. I want to be a hero for my mother, to save her, but now that I know I can do more, it's more about being able to help anyone than one specific person. One person at a time, and every person counts."

They pulled themselves up to another level and a slightly glow permeated the flooring. They were nearing the top. The floor of the penultimate level barely covered the one below, surrounding only the central pillar and leading to another ladder. Raven begrudgingly accepted being withdrawn to her capsule after seeing no feasible paths to the roof. Ciel and Brent ascended the final climb to the peak. Starry blackness stared them back.

"It's a beautiful night. The moon came out," Ciel said. The clouds had parted while they ascended, blanketing the roof in moonlight. Ciel walked up to the edge of the tower and rested his forearms on the fencing. He peered over the city, and over Johto beyond.

Brent examined four stone statues of a large bird Pokémon on the corners of the roof. They radiated a magnificence under the light of the moon, but the detail of each carving wasn't visible without proper sunlight. "I'm glad we came up here. What is it you wanted to say?"

"I think… that I want to go my own way for a while," Ciel said.

"Go your own way?"

"Not like when I went ahead to Azalea Town while you were visiting your grandma. I mean, for real this time. The Gym Challenge splits from this city, and I think it'd be best if I went the opposite way as you. I'll go towards Olivine, and you towards Mahogany. If you're okay with that, of course," Ciel explained to his friend. He didn't make eye contact as Brent joined him at the railing.

"I kind of figured. If you wanted to do some soul-searching on your own terms, this would be the best place to part ways."

"I'm going to find out what my own purpose means to me. You've already figured yours out," Ciel said as he finally turned to look at him. "I've never been so sure, and I want to be able to be the same kind of person you are. I want to be able to move faster than my mind can when someone needs protecting. I don't know how long that will take."

Brent tapped his fingers on the railing. It wasn't out of impatience, but rather in thinking. Ciel could see a million things about to come out of his mouth, but he settled on one.

"I suppose you wanted this tower to mean something on this journey of ours?"

Ciel nodded. "Four months. Once four months have passed, I want us both to come back here, stand atop this tower, and battle. We'll prove how far we've come."

"That's right," Brent realized. "We've never battled before, have we? My Furret and your Absol. That'll be exciting." His eyes cast down to Ciel's partner, who stood resolutely by his side. She was willing to follow Ciel's decision into a new unknown, just like when their journey began.

Brent stepped back from the fence. He was leaving already, but he flashed his old-model Poké GEAR. "If this is the last I see of you for a while, just know that you can call me if you need me."

"Right. Hopefully, I won't need you until then, and then we can see just how much we've grown," Ciel said.

Brent pulled him into a hug suddenly. They shared no words, but Ciel returned the embrace. They held for a while before letting go.

Brent walked away and stopped in front of the ladder, ready to descend the tower. However, he lingered for a few moments. He called back. "Ciel, remember when we all visited the Ruins of Alph and that hole opened up in the shrine chamber? You were the one to grab Ethan, err, Gold, and pull him out. You fell in and passed out. No matter how long you have to go, just remember that you might be further along than you think. If you know that, you can keep going."

Ciel grinned forward. "Say goodbye to Zuki for me, okay? I know she'll want to travel with you. Take care of each other."

Ciel didn't hear him drop down the ladder, but after minutes passed with no new sounds, he knew he was alone. Well, he wasn't ever truly alone. Ciel released all his Pokémon onto the tower. His Pidgeotto took position on the railing, while the rest of his Pokémon stood to his sides.

Raven, Arden, Clovis, Hector. He even clicked the button on his newest capture and released his Scyther. The Bug-type Pokémon wasn't well-acquainted with any of them, but he understood the mood of the occasion. Under the moonlight and the starlight, the team peered at the region beyond. It was just them from then on, meaning their adventure had begun anew. Just like when he started, it was him and his Pokémon. Here they stood, hundreds of kilometers from New Bark, where his journey formally began.

Ciel couldn't bring himself to leave. He wasn't ready to go just yet. His Pokémon didn't complain, so they remained in reflection atop the tower. Something started, or something finished. Ciel couldn't tell.

Beginning, end.

End, beginning.

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that they would go on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter 17 marks the end of Anew's first major story arc. In my notes, the previous arc was vaguely codenamed "Adventure" due to my lack of true plot separation between the planned three in the story. The purpose of the first arc was to cultivate character motivations and goals to lead up to truer adversity in the story's latter half, but I ended up going much further in depth with character challenges and the setups for later problems than I had planned.**
> 
> **Because this is a concrete stopping point, I saw fit to reflect on the story as a whole and do some major editing. At this stage, every chapter up to Chapter 5 has received an additional round of comprehensive editing; I was hoping to have every chapter done, but I couldn't beat my posting deadline for 17, and I'm content with filling in the rest over the coming few days. Mostly, the changes are logical errors (such as some gendered pronouns, an inconsistent reference to Silver's height, various capitalization changes, changing Ciel's drink in Chapter 10 to apricorn juice, etc.) and a few minor narrative additions, but none that would be noticeable without the original draft visible. Reread if you would like, but the narrative path doesn't change. I have encountered a problem with this, as my drafts for this story are saved in multiple places and I don't always update all of them simultaneously. I hope I haven't reverted any changes by editing on an older-version draft. A more lengthy developmental talk/postmortem exists on the FFN version of this story. I have the same username on both sites, so if you're curious, look me up there to read it.**
> 
> **This story is a joy to write, flaws and all, and it's supposed to be the basis for some future stories to come. I have plenty of time to improve and each word is another step up. I appreciate everyone who's followed the story this far, and if you'd join me for 18 more chapters, I'd love to have you along.**
> 
> **Come back soon for Chapter 18: The Price of Confidence. Let the adventure continue!**


	18. The Price of Confidence

"Please…" his voice shook. "Please be okay…"

Arden's inert body lied curled in his arms. A rock pierced through his body—the spear-like object punctured his Quilava's stomach and exited through his back. Ciel ran faster, and faster, and faster, and faster, and faster, each step letting a pool of blood splash to the ground.

He was so close to the Pokémon Center. Any lost second was a second of Arden's life leaving his body. Rain drowned the world around him. Ciel's only solace was that he couldn't smell the iron.

Iron.

The clash of metal. The rupture of earth. It was a battle he never could have won—he was too blind to see that, and now he couldn't escape the consequences.

He tripped. A sharp pain ran through his back as he slammed on the ground. He slid. As Ciel returned to his feet, they slipped through the mud; he almost lost his balance a second time, but he powered through the melting ground. Arden's heartbeat was waning.

Ciel choked on his own tears. "How— how could I let this happen?"

* * *

**ONE DAY PRIOR**

* * *

Ciel scrawled in his notebook. His signal to Arden caused the Quilava to fire on all cylinders, leading to a massive heatwave as the flames burned higher and higher. The Pokémon's leg muscles were buckling because his entire body flexed with the motion.

Scattered embers danced across the rooftop where they practiced. While the Pokémon stood in the center, his trainer leaned against the roof's elevated border. The entire building, like every other structure in the town, was coated in beautiful white paint, which is why it surprised Ciel that the owner of the shop lent them the roof to practice. He could already see dark scores where the flames touched the surface, and though he tried to scrub some discoloration away with a rag from his duffel, Ciel figured they had already done too much damage to bother.

"Are you ready?" shouted Ciel over the roar of the flames. His Pokémon returned an affirmative growl, so Ciel gave the second signal.

Arden opened his mouth, and like a water valve spun open, a pure stream of flame erupted. It arced across roofs in the distance of the small town, though thankfully it dissipated before reaching the ground below. Ciel followed the beam across town and watched curious townsfolk stare up at the sudden column of light and heat. When it ceased, he apologized for the disturbance by shouting over the roof.

He returned to Arden at the center, who had fallen to his stomach. He asked, "Are you okay, bud?"

Arden managed a squeak but nothing more. Ciel smiled and scratched the Pokémon's head. "You shouldn't exert yourself anymore today. It's a long way from you having the reserves to use Flamethrower, but it's progress that you can hold it even for a little while."

Ciel returned to the edge of the arena, dug through his bag, and located some high-class insect meat. He'd splurged and bought more of that expensive Durant mix before he left Ecruteak. Not that Arden had any complaints about his reckless spending. Upon noticing Ciel putting food out, Arden scurried over to the edge of the roof and dug in next to his trainer.

Ciel leaned back against the roof edge and flipped through his notebook. The past few days of practice for Arden had been conditioning larger output—it was like muscle training, where the only way to improve was to try hard, rest, and do it all over. He tapped his cheek with the pencil between his fingers as he reread his notes. He accidentally poked himself in the eye.

"Did we ever come back to this one?" he asked as he reread a months-old scribble. In between his notes about Smokescreen, one small writing mentioned an occurrence he'd only viewed once before.

_Arden belched a larger Ember than normal. It exploded when it landed. Must revisit at later time._

Said Pokémon curiously peered over his shoulder as he retrieved a textbook titled  _Pokémon Physiology and the Biological Basis of Pokémon Battles._  The thick tome was college-level, difficult to digest, and at least ten years out of date, which is why the library in Ecruteak had offered it for sale at such a low price. The rare burst of power had to have a physiological basis.

He flipped through the table of contents, and unsatisfied with the lack of direction it provided, he settled on scanning the energy expenditure chapter in the book's six-hundreds. Special/physical split, natural recoil, move failure, nothing gave any indication of the thing he saw. Ciel got himself lost in the hundreds of miscellaneous topics in the final section of the chapter, and as he moved off a page, he immediately flipped back as he registered a few keywords.

"Hyperexertive expulsion," he read aloud to his active Pokémon. "First recorded in 1831, this  _defect_ ," he paused, noting that the word had seven footnotes attached to it, "is present is most, if not all known Pokémon species. In very rare instances, a Pokémon's energy pathways will misfire and output at greater than 200% their recorded average. The most supported theory behind this phenomenon explains that hyperexertive expulsion acts to reset buildup in a Pokémon's internal function, equated to a leap year's additional day resetting the fraction of additional time accumulated over four-year intervals. Its relative rarity and failure to be replicated consistently under conditioned environments has led to a lack of study on this phenomenon."

Ciel flipped across the pages when it referred to another section in the battle weaknesses chapter at the end of the paragraph. That passage referenced the agitation of pressure points by attacks, resulting in additional exhaustion to the receiving Pokémon. At the bottom was a note. "Like hyperexertive expulsion, a Pokémon's weak points being pressured during battle tends to result in additional "damage". Colloquially, both occurrences are referred to by experienced trainers as  _critical hits._ "

He looked upward from the book across the rooftops of Whitestone. That was one mystery solved. Ciel scratched out the note, disappointed that it could only be affected by luck, but he found himself enlightened. He'd been nose-deep in books for months, both during his training and on his off-time. He was sure he'd read more by volume than the entirety of high school.

"Well, what do you say we wrap it up for the day?" he asked Arden. The Pokémon responded by cutting power to his flames and wiggling underneath Ciel's right arm to rest his head on the trainer's thigh. Ciel smiled softly. "You're gonna be my headliner in our upcoming battle in Olivine. The Gym Leader there uses Steel-type Pokémon, and that means you've got a major advantage. You excited?"

His Pokémon perked up and nodded his head up and down. Ciel wasn't sure when he picked up the gesture's meaning, but he was glad for the enthusiasm.

Brent came to his mind. Ciel had found himself wondering what he and Zuki were doing over the week and a half since they separated. Every so often, they came to mind, and he realized that he was almost lonely without the other trainer with him. He'd stick to his word, though. When he next saw Brent, it would be as a more enlightened trainer. His friend, maybe even best friend, would see a version of Ciel neither of them knew before.

Ciel peered over the edge of the roof onto the street below, where Raven, Clovis, Hector, and his Scyther were sparring in rotation on the ground. Various passersby veered around them and angrily shouted at the Pokémon for blocking the walkway. Ciel shouted downward, "Are you four good to go? I think we should make more headway towards Olivine instead of staying here for the night. I'm running low on cash for the Pokémon Center's guest rooms."

It took a moment for a response. Raven was busy teacher the newcomer the ropes. Despite being over twice her size, the Scyther eagerly accepted instruction on footwork from the senior Pokémon. He assumed no one had heard and was about to shout for attention again, but Raven soon broke from their session and cast an affirmative growl up at him. She met his eye.

Ciel packed up his stuff and descended through the roof access hatch on the building. He thanked the building's proprietor for the available space—and passed him ₽2000 for a can of white paint—before reuniting with his other team members on the ground. The six of them marched valiantly south out of Whitestone, intent on reaching Olivine as soon as possible.

Arden had recently evolved and had trained to almost be able to use Flamethrower. With him leading their fight against the Gym Leader, there was no way they could lose. After all, he'd beaten Bugsy, Whitney, and Morty all on his first try. Only Falkner had given him trouble all those months ago, but that was because he was still a novice.

The Ciel Fauder of the present would take the Gym Challenge by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. His team was ready. He was ready. Ciel had a ear-length grin on his face we as they left the town into the wilderness.

* * *

The port city of Olivine. They had figuratively  _flown_ through Route 39, powered by Ciel's excitement and a lack of trouble with wild Pokémon. The accelerated pace made him all the more delighted as he gazed upon the oceanside megalopolis.

A sprawl of buildings curved around the southern bay. Ciel traced his eyes along multiple man-made canals that sectioned the city by running to the ocean; outlining the coast was a series of ports, where rows of cargo ships sat loaded with goods, with many more containers soaring in movement from cranes. Every building in the city proper was constructed of pure, sleek, modern metal, aside from the lighthouse to his left that cast its view into the ocean. Some dark grey clouds were rolling in. He had heard once before that Olivine had more thunderstorms than any other city in the region.

He stared down his nose at the steep descent from the cliff on which he stood. It was a long way down, but he didn't see an easier access besides returning to the woods and finding a detour.

That left him with one option. He turned to face his five active Pokémon, saluted, and fell backwards.

"Last one to the city sits out the Gym battle!" he shouted as he fell from the cliff.

The wind rushed up to him as he hit the ground running. He drank in the exhilaration even while struggling to keep every foot in front of him and not tumble down the hillside. He could spy their target dead ahead: a monolithic, trapezoidal building with the Pokémon League's sigil layed out on its paneled walls.

Raven bounded ahead of him to the right; Clovis and Scyther took flight and soared past him, Arden carried in the former's talons. The only one unaccounted for was Hector, but Ciel twisted his head at a thundering sound behind him. The living tank barreled towards him. He veered wide to the left to avoid being trampled and felt the earth shake as the Rhyhorn charged past down the hill.

All his Pokémon were waiting for him as he approached the first structures at the city's edge. He hit the brakes hard, barely managing to pull himself to a stop, and leaned over, wheezing. "I— I guess I'm the one that has to sit out, huh?"

His team looked between themselves and their trainer. He put his hands up, defensively, to reassure them they were still battling that day. None of them had had a proper battle since they left Ecruteak, so he was sure some of his Pokémon were getting restless. Ciel recalled all but Raven to their capsules for ease of transport through the city.

Only a dozen blocks sat between them and the Gym. He could hear clanking and grinding and clicking as he walked and observed cranes, construction equipment, and canal passageways twisting, moving, working. The city itself was alive, like a giant complex machine. Yet, somewhere within it all, he could distantly make out the roar of the ocean. The sensory wonderland reminded him of Cherrygrove, and ultimately his mind cast back to Brent again.

He shook his head. Not that he didn't want to think about his friend, but he wanted to fulfill his promise to himself. He needed to do this by himself, not with a guide and mentor shaping his every step. It was time for him to grow. He'd become the protector he wanted to be, with the mind of his own to do it.

And so, he found himself standing on the Olivine Gym's lawn, Raven by his side. Of the eight Gyms in the region, he had received badges from four. If he could beat one half, he could beat the other. What was there to worry about? He swallowed the tiniest hesitation and stepped forward.

Raven planted herself in front of him. She bared her sickle towards him, punctuating the move with a growl. He stopped in his tracks.

"What's the matter, Raven? Don't tell me you're backing out now."

She growled once again, but she jerked her head towards the building behind her. He followed her movement towards the door and found himself focusing intently on it. His next challenge was right through there. It was so close. Why stop there?

He decided to walk around his partner, but she shifted to plant herself in front again. He went the opposite direction. She blocked his path.

Ciel crossed his arms. "I don't know what your problem is, but if you don't want to be part of the Gym battle, that's fine by me. Steel resists Dark anyway. Err, maybe I'm misremembering, but that's not the point."

With even more confidence, he pushed past his partner and started towards the entrance. However, he couldn't help but cast a glance back at her. She hadn't moved from her spot and stared him down. There was another expression within. It was a plea.

She was telling him not to do it. What did she know, anyway? Arden had grown way stronger in such a short period of time because of his evolution and their constant practice. Ciel bet that he could sweep the Gym Leader's entire team himself. Maybe she was just jealous. After all, she prided herself in being the strongest around. Maybe she couldn't live with being dethroned.

"We'll be out in no time. If you don't want to watch, you don't have to," Ciel said to his partner. "But, you should come inside. I don't want you to get caught in the storm."

The trainer pushed open the door to the Olivine Gym. The heavy metal slab resisted, but he muscled the entrance open. As he stepped inside, leaving Raven behind, the Gym closed behind him with an ominous slam.

* * *

Ciel choked on his own tears. "How— how could I let this happen?"

A dazzling flash of lightning exploded when it struck a piece of construction scaffolding, showering him in sparks. His eardrums nearly blew out from the thunderous burst. The sheer volume of downpour made it difficult to see, but he could barely make out the neon glow down the street.

No one else was around. It was just Ciel and the dying Pokémon in his arms, trying desperately to reach the Pokémon Center. He held his hands close to Arden's wound to apply pressure. They were stained.

Ciel bashed his shoulder into the door to throw himself inside. Through tears and hiccups, he shouted, "S-someone, please help him! He's going to— going to die!"

He tuned out the murmurs from various pedestrians and trainers disturbed by his outburst. As quickly as he cried out, Pokémon Center nurses rushed out of swinging doors, loaded Arden up on a stretcher, and whisked him away. He kept his eyes focused on the pitiful body of his friend as it disappeared. Ciel stepped to follow, only for another body to storm past from the outside. A soaking Raven trailed water as she slipped past Center workers into the emergency ward

After seeing his partner, Ciel couldn't bring himself to move. His partner had warned him about this. Her species' inherent trait was a sense for disaster. He had always brushed it off as mere superstition.

A few trainers crowded around him. A woman asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

He was sobbing hard enough that he couldn't answer. Arden wasn't okay. Arden wasn't okay, so Ciel wasn't okay. He told Brent he could make it on his own, without anyone else to guide him, and he was wrong. He was so wrong.

"Here, let's get you to a couch," a man said as he offered Ciel a hand. He saw his best friend's face overlay the stranger's, and it just made him sick to his stomach.

Ciel found sudden strength to jump to his feet and disappear through the entrance of the Pokémon Center. Back in the dark, flooding world, he ran aimlessly through the empty city streets. He didn't know where he was going. There was nowhere for him  _to_ go. He couldn't escape the present. Each footstep scattered a puddle. His entire body was soaked. He was cold, freezing even.

What had he told himself? That he wanted to be a strong Pokémon trainer to protect people? Among that, he had forgotten the possibility that his own Pokémon would need protecting. He couldn't judge his own limits, nor could he anticipate his own failure.

Somehow, he found himself at the docks. His eyes hadn't left the concrete streets, so he had no idea where he was. He looked up for one moment to see the intricate wirework of moving cranes and cargo containers. Ciel lost himself in a steel jungle.

He didn't know how he boarded the ship. He barely had sense of self as his own mind tore itself apart, so the next time he came back to reality, he found himself curled up in the far corner of a commercial transport's deck. His subconscious wanted him as far as possible from his mistake as he could be, and he got his wish—a deafening horn sounded, blocking out the rain, signaling the ship's departure.

He cried and he cried and he cried. Two of five capsules in his pocket were empty. He couldn't bring himself to look at them.

A brilliant beam of light passed overhead. In the split second that the rotating Glitter Lighthouse illuminated his body, he could see the deep red covering his hands. His eyes, open wide, couldn't move from the sight, even after the stormy darkness swallowed him again.

Hours, maybe days, passed aboard the ship. Ciel couldn't remember sleeping, but he also couldn't remember being awake. The entire craft lurched with the turbulent weather, swaying in the ocean. Ciel kept himself curled up tight. He was clutched to a metal shaft connected to the ship's cabin, but his hands kept slipping from the drenched metal.

A massive wave approached, large enough that he could see it among the storm. Ciel braced himself.

The entire ship trembled under the force of the wave. Ear-piercing metal scraping met his ears as containers shifted aboard the craft, making him curl tighter in on himself and move one hand to an ear to stop the pain. His other hand slipped.

The wave washed over the boat completely. Spraying across the deck, it carried the unsuspecting trainer over the side barrier, and he screamed as he fell into the ocean. It swallowed him whole.

Ciel Fauder washed away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Arc 2, here we come! This chapter should allude to a lot of the major format and narrative changes in the latter half of the story. For one, you can see how much more drama focused this chapter was compared to a lot of the more lighthearted adventure fare beforehand. Second, this is the first chapter since Chapter 4 where only Ciel's perspective is used. With Ciel and Brent parting ways at the end of Chapter 17, the second story arc is going to focus alternatively on both individual characters in larger "chunks," as it were. Gold, Silver, and Crystal retain the scattered method from before, though I have at least one chapter planned with full focus on them.**
> 
> **This is also the shortest chapter in the story by far. I originally was going to go past this chapter's published ending, but I didn't want to ruin the cliffhanger. You'll have to wait to find out what happens to Ciel next!**
> 
> **I'm eagerly awaiting the Pokémon Direct tomorrow for more information on our new English wonderland. I pray we don't get a Quilladin situation with the second starter forms. I can still remember the shudders six years later.**
> 
> **Tune back next time for Brent and Zuki's adventures in east Johto in Chapter 19: Cometh the Savior. See you there!**


	19. Cometh the Savior

Brent rolled the miniaturized capsule around in his hands like a stress ball. His fingerprints collected on the glossy material, and in it he could see a reflection. A wide grin crossed his face and he felt his arm shake at his side with happiness.

"What's made you so sunny today?" asked Zuki, who was walking behind him.

"Nothing much," he said. "I'm just super excited to train today. Every time I look at my Poké Balls, I get a little giddy thinking about who's inside."

Brent tapped the Poké Ball into its ready state and clamped his hand around the object. He hovered his index finger over the button, but he stopped. When was his Magikarp last active? They were training at a waterfall pond in Ecruteak before the Gym Battle, but they ended up defeating Morty with only Sentret and Eevee at the helm. Agitating the little guy by displacing him from water to land would just be distasteful.

Brent followed the path of a creek and led Zuki to a nearby lake. Along their left rose the rounded peaks of Mount Mortar, which cast a shadow over them through the treeline. The terrain had become rockier the further east they traveled and the path all but disappeared, so they'd been tracking the creek to lead them up Route 42. Mahogany Village was their destination. Ciel was from Mahogany—err, had just moved to Mahogany. And his  _parents_ were the Gym Leaders Brent would face off against. That was some lineage to follow.

He figured that Ciel had already made it to Olivine. He couldn't claim to fully understand his friend's reason for splitting up, but if it made him happy and pushed him forward as a trainer, Brent would be waiting in Ecruteak in four months without hesitation. That's what heroes do. They support each other.

The creek suddenly stopped as it emptied into a lake through a small break in the trees, where a small rock island rose in the middle. He held Magikarp's Poké Ball towards the water and popped the capsule open. The materialization beam struck the water and painted it purple where the light scattered. His Magikarp appeared.

"Hey there, buddy!" he exclaimed. The aquatic Pokémon matched his enthusiasm once he gained bearing. Brent pointed behind himself at Zuki. "What we're gonna do today is give her a first-ever Pokémon battle. Think you can go easy?"

The Magikarp playfully splashed around the lake while making "glub" sounds. Brent couldn't think of a more eager affirmation.

The trainer turned back to Zuki, who stood with her legs together and feet inward. She was wearing the same clothes she challenged her mother in, though her loose jacket was slipping off her shoulders. In her hand she held a single Poké Ball, but she kept shuffling it between hands. She almost dropped it as he stood up.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Brent asked. "I don't want to push you past your comfort zone."

She smiled at him before steeling her expression. "That's sweet of you. But, when I said I wanted to do this, I  _meant_ it. I've heard about Pokémon battling for so long, but Mother was appalled at the idea of such a 'barbaric' form of exchange."

"Is this teenage rebellion?" said Brent with a mischievous grin.

Zuki held up her Poké Ball and stared into its glossy top. She shrugged. "If it's not, I don't think I'm doing this right."

Brent slapped his hands together and rubbed, feeling the friction heating his palms. He took a deep breath through his nose, closed his eyes, and then brightened up all at once. "It's time we get started, then! Take your positions!"

His Magikarp leaped from the water and flopped in the grass, its bright orange scales contrasting against the earthy tones around them. It was the best battle stance he could muster. Meanwhile, Zuki sighed deeply and released her own Pokémon from the capsule. The materialization beam amassed the form of a sleek, short-snouted quadruped. Brush-like ears and a tail sprouted and the red soon faded to black as her Umbreon appeared. The Pokémon's dark body was broken up by golden ring patterns that nearly shone under the daylight.

Brent put his hands on his hips. "You've used a few moves during your dances, right? Try to hit us with one of them."

"Hit you?" She gasped. "Won't that hurt?

Brent nearly fell over in laughter, causing Zuki to cast a judgmental glare. Brent said through his chuckles, "I think it's supposed to hurt a little bit. Pokémon get stronger and healthier the more they battle because their bodies like that kind of enrichment, or something along those lines."

"Well, okay…" she clenched her eyes shut. "Please don't be mad at me for making you fight, Lucine."

Her Umbreon yapped at its—her, he assumed by the name—trainer but prepared a battle stance. A lousy one, if he were being honest, but she implied that neither of them had ever battled before. He'd just have to do his best to get them up to speed!

"Lucy, use… uhh… well, we use Moonlight during our performances, right? Use Moonlight."

The Umbreon focused her power and the rings around her body glowed. Soon, her entire body was engulfed in light and particles of light were pulled from the surrounding air. When the glow dissipated, the Pokémon let out a howl.

Brent blinked. If his Magikarp had eyelids, it would have blinked too. That was it? "Uhh, Zuki, I don't think that was an attack."

"I'm not exactly an expert, okay!" She puffed out her cheeks, which turned a bright red.

"That's fine!" he reassured as he crossed the battlefield towards, putting himself by her side. She looked to her for confirmation, and she nodded. Brent pulled her arm out, splayed her palm, and put another hand on her opposite shoulder to twist her body back. "Posture is important to get you into it, just like a fighting stance. Doesn't that feel powerful?"

"I guess so," she offered.

"Now," he started as he jogged back over to his Magikarp, "I want you to hit us with everything you've got. Any attack you have. Throw it at us!"

Zuki's face transformed. Her features, normally rounded, sharpened instantly and she curled a fist in front of her chest. She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Use Dark Pulse!"

Umbreon's rings disappeared as its entire body was engulfed in shadow. The blackness began to beat like a heart as it covered and concentrated the Pokémon's figure. Brent could feel power radiating from it, but he had no idea what—it wasn't heat, it wasn't light, it wasn't anything. The pulse released from Umbreon's body and flew forward as a wave of Dark-type energy.

In the second before it made contact, Brent could only say, "Aw, hell."

The attack blasted both himself and his Magikarp into the water. He was under for a few seconds until he managed to find bearing and surface, taking a deep breath as he did so. He laughed to himself.

"If that's the best you got, I don't think we have too much to worry about!" he called up to her. Water from his soaked hair ran down his face and the coolness tingled his skin.

"Sorry!" she called before running to the edge of the lake. "I'm so sorry, Brent. Sorry, sorry. I didn't know how strong that move would be! I never used it in battle before."

He put his fingers up in a dripping "V". He grinned ear to ear. "Hey, I'm alright. Dark moves don't bleed or really hurt you at all, they just take a lot out of you. Give me like five minutes and we'll be back on track. Err, wait, where's Magikarp?"

A shining, serpentine form met his eye as he pivoted his head around. The light emitted from the creature lit the entire lake and nearly blocked out the sun. He watched with wide eyes as the body rearranged itself, retracting and sprouting features to fit a new genetic plan. Its color appeared: a royal blue. The light vanished.

The Gyarados that replaced his Magikarp roared into the sky, an earth-shattering, ground-shaking sound. Looking skyward, Brent stared in awe at his Pokémon's new stage of evolution.

Now it was his turn to shout with all his heart as he raised both hands triumphantly. "Yes!"

* * *

Stupid.

He skewered an aluminum can and deposited it in the trash bag.

Asinine.

He skewered a disgusting fast food wrapper sticky with melted cheese and various sauces.

Bullshit.

He skewered an entire cardboard box and held it up, staring at it with dead eyes.

Ahead of him, Dumbass One and Dumbass Two were singing some popular song he didn't care about. The girl joyfully skewered her own trash while the boy held the bag. What kind of twisted saps enjoyed this prison work?

Silver hadn't spoken in almost four hours. Instead, he kept grinding his teeth. He was sure that if he kept on, he'd explode. He'd burst, he'd pop, he'd  _snap_. All of this was pointless! He wasn't getting any stronger or getting better at Pokémon battles, not when they were doing all this "community service" shit. And now they were heading the exact opposite direction they needed to be going to find the Rockets, not that they'd listen to him if he tried to tell them where the Rocket's secret headquarters was.

"Yo, Silver!" shouted the girl. "Is your bag almost full?"

He grumpily tied the garbage bag closed and tossed it onto the moving pile. Underneath a mound of bagged trash and the "borrowed" dumpster that held it walked the girl's Marill. Silver could barely see the round blue Pokémon underneath all it was carrying, but it kept pace with the other two and hadn't slowed their entire walk. He wanted to punch the pipsqueak for showing off, but that was the kind of strength he needed. It, along with the two's other Pokémon, had been training and training and training and training and yet he still had  _nothing._

Dumbass Two tossed back an empty bag and a water bottle, though he asked for neither. When they weren't looking, Silver downed the entire bottle and tossed it in the bag with all the other trash. Taking handouts made him feel so fucking small. Why did they need to baby him when they were already torturing him? More time passed and he continued to skewer trash in contempt, but then they started singing again.

"A new adventure, another day~" sang the girl in a shrill voice.

She passed to her friend, who continued the line. "One more challenge that comes our way~."

"It's up to me and you," they sang in unison, "we know what we've gotta do!"

He snapped.

"What the  _fuck_ do you want from me!?"Silver shouted, dropping a half-filled bag and spilling it all over the ground. "This is stupid, it's garbage, it's complete bullshit. Why haven't I gotten my Pokémon back after all this? Are you gonna make me clean every bathroom in Olivine next?"

The girl gawked at him. That feeling of superiority underlying her gaze twisted his stomach into knots—he  _despised_  it.

"All you've done is look down at me while I've done all of your dirty work. Is that it? You just want to get back at me for stealing and punching your idiot friend? Answer me!" he shouted.

The girl didn't say anything. More like, she couldn't say anything. He was exactly right, she was just a sadist bitch who wanted to see him squirm under her heel, and now that he called her out for it, she couldn't excuse herself. Silver never should have put himself in a compromising situation, but he was done dealing with them.

"Is…" she paused, "is that what you think? That this is a punishment?"

Silver drove his shoe into the fallen trash, sending the bag flying to their feet. It spilled various garbage across the road, reversing all the work he'd done for the past twenty minutes. Not that it mattered to him. He wouldn't do this "work" anymore. "What else is this? I feel like a fucking criminal."

"But you are a criminal," said the moron, before the girl shushed him silent. Silver dug his nails into his hand.

"You said I was going to earn my Pokémon back," Silver shouted, "and I made it clear that I'm here to get stronger! I can't face the Rockets if I'm not strong!"

"But Silver, this  _is_ your training," the girl refuted.

He felt his anger break because he couldn't sustain the concentrated rage. Silver leveled his eyes with the floor and breathed deeply. There was no way. There was no way he wasted two months of his life on this.

She approached him, but he didn't look up. He felt a hand on his shoulder, which he smacked away, but she remained in place even if she didn't try to touch him again. "The first thing you don't understand about Pokémon is that you have to help them. You help them grow, and in return, they help you by battling. You help them live, and they help you by being partners, companions, friends. That's what this is. Think about all the people we've helped."

"What the fuck do you mean 'we?'" he muttered.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't make you do anything I wouldn't do myself. That would be cruel."

That's right. Like when they cleaned out the alley. Nearly every time she made him do some random busy work, she was right there doing the same. Even the moron pitched in. But why? Why wouldn't she want to punish him? It didn't make sense.  _She_  didn't make sense.

"Do you need some more water?" the other boy asked. He offered another bottle. Silver silently took it and downed half of it in a single swig-he wasn't hot, he was just exhausted from anything and everything. He could feel himself decompressing, but it was leaving him worn out. He raised his eyes to the two to see them staring intently at him. She was judging him again.

"Hey, Crystal, I just had a thought," said the moron.

"It truly is the end times," she chided as she rolled her eyes. Still, she let herself be pulled aside by the other boy, who leaned close to her and whispered.

Silver would have tried to listen in if he wasn't too tired to move. The roadside felt unnecessarily comfortable as he dropped to a sit. With nothing to keep him occupied, he poked at the spilled trash with his skewer.

"Okay," said the girl. They broke the huddle. "Okay, okay, okay. I get it. And stop punctuating every sentence with wisping sounds."

"Hehe, sorry," her friend said.

"Let's  _go,_ Silver," she stressed. "We're going to go dump all we collected and find the Pokémon Center downtown. Gold, did you write down the address like I asked?"

"Nope!" he exclaimed.

"Ugh. I've heard inner-city Olivine is pretty easy to navigate anyway. We better get a move on so there aren't any super long lines from trainers stopping for the night."

Silver didn't move for a while. It was seconds after they began to walk off that he roughly picked himself up, grabbed as much scattered garbage as he could, and followed after. Only the moron looked back at him and Silver frowned at the thumbs up he was given. His stupid face was too cheery sometimes.

The trip was shorter than he expected, and with the Marill carrying the heavy load, it was easy to find their way across the city after returning the dumpster to its original location. Each building in the city looked the goddamn same and it made his senses go haywire trying to differentiate anything as he looked above the passing high-rises. The Pokémon Center was maybe the only building with any color other than unpainted metal. As they stepped inside, Silver threw up his hood and retreated into his hoodie.

The girl conversed with the Pokémon Center nurse and informed them that one of the PC booths was available for them to use. He tried to keep his head down as they walked down the hall and ducked into the corner-nestled seat, surrounded by other chatting trainers going about their digital business. Goosebumps littered his neck due to his proximity to so many other people. It wasn't his usual business.

Between he and the other two was a large machine with monitors on both sides connected to a central apparatus littered with flashing status lights. She retrieved something from her overall pocket. He watched with tapping fingers as she logged into her PC account and typed something from a small card.

The next few moments soared in a blur. Silver blinked, and by then a Poké Ball was in his hand. The machine had whirred and glowed and spun and clunked after the girl across him performed the trading process. She also handed back the rectangular item—his trainer card was finally returned to him.

He gazed at the capsule and then he looked up. Why did he need their approval anyway? Still the girl nodded, so he stepped from the capsule and tapped the button.

Croconaw exploded from the capsule. The red beam pulsed while expanding, limbs constructing from nothing until the entire red body was complete, fading after to blue. The Pokémon was no longer littered with small injures. No, it had been healed and tended to, and now rather than cowering before him in fear, it snapped at him in distaste. He fell to a sitting position, his legs splayed weakly.

"You want to destroy the Rocket Syndicate," stated the girl. "I do too. After seeing what they're capable of and how little the police can do, I feel like it falls to us. But you've gone about it the wrong way until now. I wanted to show you how to be a good person, because only then can you stop bad people. Do you think you're a good person?"

"I… I don't know," he said.

She laughed softly. "That's okay. What matters is that you've tried, and we've done a lot of good together. So, let's start from the beginning here.

"Just do what you think you should do!" exclaimed the moron.

Silver extended his hand. The blue reptilian bared its teeth and once again snapped its jaws as his palm moved closer. The fin atop its head extended with its alertness. It was stressed. It hated him. Still, he put forward his palm.

His skin touched the scaled snout of the Pokémon and rested. They were at peace.

* * *

March, march, march! Hut, hut, hut! Left, left, left right left!

Brent cheered in his mind as he and Zuki drove up successive rocky inclines. Her hand and his held firmly together, they ascended natural stone stairs to the heavens to carry themselves slowly aside—or maybe over—Mount Mortar. The supposed mountain was more like a cracked dome enclosing a vast above-ground cave, if there even was such a thing. He didn't know, but he did know that it'd be mighty unfortunate if he were to fall into one of various crevices that emptied into the caves below.

"Are you okay up there, Lucy?" Zuki asked her Pokémon. Her Umbreon had taken the lead position, spotting any cracks or unstable surfaces to make sure neither of them accidentally fell through the mountain. The Pokémon yapped and continued moving.

Behind them, Furret kept watch. They were high enough that it was unlikely they'd be attacked by any wilds, but it was in his partner's nature to be the sentry. He was far too big now to ride on his shoulder, but the mammalian Pokémon took it in stride.

"This isn't prime real estate to help you get used to Pokémon battles," Brent began, "so I'm sorry we had to put that on hold for a bit. Once we get onto more even ground, I swear we'll get right back into it."

"Thank you. I think I need to take it slow anyway," she said. "It's not like there's a rush."

"This is precarious," Brent announced while surveying the magnificent landscape of rocks around them. The rainbow of tans and greys and beiges across Mount Mortar's surface were almost as beautiful as the full color spectrum. "But it's fun! I'm still blown away by all the cool stuff I see around here. Most of my neighborhood at home was boring old dirt fields."

"I guess we both come from rustic beginnings," Zuki replied absentmindedly. She was focused on her footing. She nearly slipped on a wet stone, but his grip on her helped return her to her feet. "Brent, you say you want to be a hero, but how do you judge your success as a person?"

"Huh?" He turned his head back and shot her a look. It seemed a little dumb to micromanage his own life philosophy. If he helped as many people as he could, he'd be a hero. That was all he needed.

"What happens when you fail?" she answered his question with one of her own. "What will you do then?"

That's simple. "I'll just try some more."

She went silent, but it wasn't an accepting silence. He could tell she didn't like the answer, but he couldn't understand why. All he had to do was keep trying and eventually it'd make a real difference. Right?

"Do… do you value yourself?" she asked.

"Of course I—" He stopped his words and his legs. He didn't know how to answer that.

"If you don't place any value in yourself, you only have your aspiration to be a hero to define your self-worth. I just hope that you know who you are and what it means to succeed as  _yourself_."

What it meant to succeed as himself? Wasn't his ultimate success being the person he wanted to be, and every person he saved a steppingstone? Sure, there wasn't exactly a clear benchmark to what a "hero" was, but that meant he could keep helping people forever. That's all the mattered to him, ever since his mother had to be that hero for his sake. He just wanted to be like her, to be able to help people at all costs.  _That_  was succeeding as himself.

"I just think it makes me happy to help people. When I help people, I succeed. I think that's good enough. I  _hope_  that's good enough."

Brent realized he was frowning. That certainly wouldn't do! He smiled as hard as he could, stressing all the muscles in his face to do so. He needed to smile, and he showed Zuki to prove it to her.

Her silence let them resume their climb, though it still wasn't content. Brent tried to ignore the doubt and focused on slowly inching and shifting across the rock. He watched the sun trail the length of the sky as it slowly fell behind them, casting minor shadows into the evening. East, east, east, that what where they needed to be. His next Gym Battle awaited once they finally reached Mahogany.

To pass the time, he juggled his Poké Balls; the three round objects were perfect for the job. At the same time as he tried to keep his balance, he tossed the three between his hands like a circus act. One slipped from his hand at the same time as he overcompensated and tossed another skyward. The former, fortunately, was caught by Furret, who dove forward to prevent it from falling down a crack, while he fumbled with the latter once it fell back into his hands. He decided to return the two to his messenger bag and resort to staring at the remaining one.

"I'm really proud of all the work this little guy put in. I'll try not to drop him down a hole next time."

"I'm not sure it's accurate to call him 'little guy' anymore, Brent," said Zuki.

"Yeah, I guess so! But he'll always be my little guy, just like the others. Isn't that right, Furret?" Furret chattered and squeaked at the question.

A slight tremor caught his attention and this time he was the one who nearly slipped down a crack. Furret dashed ahead of them and both he and Lucine's ears perked to full attention. The ground shook once again, causing Brent to gasp. "What's going on?"

"I-I don't know," stuttered Zuki, who dropped low to the ground to try to keep balance. The rumbling was growing in strength, meaning something was coming, but Brent couldn't see anything as he scanned around the domed peaks of Mount Mortar. Which meant…

"It's below. Maybe a collapse of the caves. We need to get down there," he announced resolutely.

"I don't mean to be rude," said Zuki, "but that's too dangerous. We're in a poor location as is."

He stared directly into her eyes. Brent hoped his plea could be seen through his own. He said, "There might be people or Pokémon trapped down there like trainers. If I can help them, I can't ignore it."

She swallowed but nodded. "How do you plan to get into the cave? We don't have any way to lower ourselves down."

"Does your Umbreon know Protect?" he asked.

"I think so," she said nervously. "What do you plan to do?"

"Use Protect on us both. I think we can make it down because it'll cushion our landing, since it protects the user from exterior force. Technically, hitting the ground is an exterior force."

"O-okay." The hesitation was apparent, but she took his hand again. She trusted him, and that was all he needed. "Lucy, use Protect on both of us."

Her Umbreon howled into the sky and with it came a shine. Blue-green light surrounded it, before it also appeared around his own body. Brent stared at his hands, turning them over in front of himself to marvel at the change. Zuki too was outlined in the mysterious sheen.

Once again, he smiled as big as he could, and then he let her hand go. As the fall began, he quickly flashed Furret's Poké Ball and recalled the creature before he plummeted into the dark cave below. Air rushing up to him tugged on his clothes and bag, the latter of which he barely managed to catch and hold to his chest. He flipped in the air, unable to control his fall, but he corrected to upright position. The ground was approaching. He braced himself.

His feet slammed home from the 100-meter drop. The Protect surged through him and absorbed the impact through his legs—a shudder ran through him, tightening all his muscles at once. He stood slowly, stiff but in one piece.

The rumbling was stronger on the ground and clashed with the overwhelming sound of waves. Light filtered from cracks above into the heart of Mount Mortar's caverns like the sun's rays through a cloud cover. The cavern was dimly lit enough that he could make out a titanic waterfall emptying into a wide river rushing past them. He had landed on the shore.

A man screamed and jumped from the waterfall. There was nothing he could do as he, and more behind him, jumped into the waves below. Brent rushed to the shore and released Furret and Eevee. He shouted over the deluge, "Pull them out as they float past! They'll be washed away if they don't!"

Thundering behind him announced Zuki's own impact on the cave floor. After confirming she was safe, he waded into the shallows and barely grabbed the arm of a man in martial arts as he floated past. With as much force as he could muster, Brent threw the man over his shoulder onto the rocky shore. Furret and Eevee worked in tandem; Eevee grabbed its partner's tail fur in its mouth to anchor the longer creature to dry land while it stretched its body into the rapids to wrap around and retrieve another.

Zuki planted herself at his side, sans shoes and socks. They worked diligently, not letting any of the struggling people past them. A few Pokémon were among the washed-away, leaving Brent surprised when he pulled a segmented, tube-like limb from the water. The Hitmonlee was in shock and barely moved as it touched dry land.

"Is that everyone?" Brent shouted to the amassed group of survivors.

The first man he pulled out spoke up, coughing water from his lungs as he did so. He squinted through the darkness, before responding, "I- I think we've got everyone. We were training at the top of the falls, but there's… there's a rockslide!"

The rumbling. It was getting louder. He slowly turned his body towards the falls. The mountain itself thundered towards him. A cloud of dust mounted among the megaton of debris rolling towards the falls. They were running from it because there was nowhere else for them to go. Ignoring the figures stranded by the river, stampedes of Geodude and their relatives retreated through the cave.

"Helping Hand!" Brent shouted as he turned back towards the group.

"What? What do you mean?" asked Zuki who struggled to be heard amongst the growing

"I need Pokémon with Helping Hand!" he exclaimed. "It's a move that can transfer energy to another to give them a temporary boost. I might be able to stop the rockslide, but I need as many as we have!"

The group of rescues looked between themselves. All were martial artists, wearing the same getup as the leader he fished out. Quickly, many of them fumbled with Poké Balls retrieved from their gis and pockets. He was lucky so many of the items weren't washed away in the stream.

Flash after flash of red materialization beams brought a crowd of Fighting-type Pokémon to the field. Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Primeape, Machop, Poliwhirl, and a few others he didn't recognize, like a short, onion-shaped creature with a bow on its head and a humanoid with bladed forearms.

"Gyarados, I need your help!" Brenr exclaimed. He threw the Poké Ball skyward and the resulting call to the field materialized his serpentine creature into the raging river. The creature turned its massive head towards him, and their locked gazes communicated all that needed to be said. It faced the waterfall and the approaching avalanche beyond. Brent signaled the leader.

"Everyone, use Helping Hand!" the martial artist commanded. His students repeated the order, as did Brent to Furret and Eevee and Zuki to her Umbreon.

Gold. Their position became shrouded in gold. The entourage focused all their energies until they manifested as golden auras. The pathways were firing on all cylinders to expel everything they had from the bodies of each Pokémon. The trainers ordered them to direct their energy.

The glow encompassed Gyarados completely. Any remaining fatigue from his evolution was washed away and replaced by the pure borrowed power of his temporary allies. He bellowed, echoing into the cave.

Brent gave the order.  _"Use Surf!"_

The river erupted. Gyarados's surge of power allowed it to throw every liter of water at the waterfall's base skyward. They were just in time. The tidal wave crashed directly against the rockslide, the sheer force of the water meeting it like the charge of two armies.

The Pokémon behind him continued to supply energy. The power transferred through the cavern air was palpable, as was the resolve of the group of martial artists. He wouldn't let them down. He and his Pokémon were responsible for their survival.

A rock burst through the wave. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to make Brent's forearm snap as it crashed past him. He heard Zuki shout his name.

Gyarados's energy ran dry. The tidal wave receded. The rockslide, while not entirely stopped, lost so much momentum that the rolling earth plummeted harmlessly over the waterfall and sank in the lake below. The misplaced water rushed past them and knocked the entire group off their feet.

They waited with hushed breaths. The rumble slowly subsided. The cavern was still.

Brent threw one arm in the air. The martial artists erupted in victorious cheer accompanied by Gyarados's own battle cry when his borrowed energy dissipated. They were saved.

"Brent, are you alright?!" asked Zuki. She planted herself beside him on the ground.

"I can't feel my arm, but I'm okay! We're okay!" he shouted to himself. He laughed. "We're okay!"

"Oh, oh no, oh no no no no no…" While examining his bent forearm, she rambled to herself. "I think it's broken."

He assured Zuki it was fine. She wasn't convinced. "You're running on adrenaline. The minute you come down you're going to be incapacitated."

"If I'm hurt, I'm hurt. No big deal," Brent said. "They're what matters."

The martial arts troupe towered over him on the ground. The leader offered a hand he took firmly with his good arm to pull himself to his feet. Brent met the man face to face.

"My name is Kiyo and I am the Karate Master of the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. My students and I were training deep in the cavern to focus our minds, but we would have not lived to practice another day had you not intervened. We are forever in your debt," he said in a heavy Kantonian accent. It wasn't far off Johtoan speak, but it was just enough to throw him off. Plus, Brent's arm burned  _viciously,_  so his senses were just a bit out of whack. Only a little. The man continued, "If there is anything we can do to repay you, we will fulfill the request."

"No need to be so formal, man. I think I just need to get to a hospital and my Pokémon to the nearest center, is all," he said. Staring at Gyarados, Brent saw it had raised Furret and Eevee into the air atop its head. They brought a light to his face.

"At least take one of our junior Pokémon. As a gift." Kiyo pushed a Poké Ball into his hand alongside a hastily written note with an authorization code to trade from his PC.

Brent tapped the button, but the mechanism opened without releasing a Pokémon. Instead, a small creature of hardly a meter, pink with a three-segment crown, and what appeared to be bandages around its limbs stood at his feet. "Oh. I've never seen a Tyrogue in person. But, I couldn't."

" _You must!"_  said the disciples of Kiyo as one.  _"It is our honor!"_

"Then, it shall be my honor as well!" Brent declared, laughing.

Zuki gathered herself beside him, though looking down he could see she was missing her footwear. They must have washed away, but if that's and an arm were all they lost, it was a good day. No, he had saved everyone. It was a great day!

"Are you ready to go?" asked Zuki. "We need to get you medical attention as soon as possible and I'm not taking no for an answer."

He laughed. "Right, I don't want to worry you. Let's get out of here, everyone!"

" _Yes, sensei!"_ The martial artists shouted. It made him blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Here comes a brand-new world. I couldn't be more excited for Generation VIII if I tried; with the addition of the Wild Area with roaming Pokémon and free camera control, Pokémon is going to feel like a modern 3D adventure game, something many of us have been wishing for since 2013. Dynamaxing is an interesting new addition, especially how it compares in balance to Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves. It's essentially a mid-point between the two with a time limit. I only wish I didn't have to go through the trouble of explaining it in this series, though I'm already drafting plans to incorporate it into the next story.**
> 
> **I know a substantial part of the hardcore fanbase is up-in-arms about some of the exclusionary changes Sword and Shield are undertaking, but I think I'm in a minority subset who's fine with—or at least neutral on—the change. I feared since Generation VI that the total roster of Pokémon would become unsustainable (I remember an official statement confirming the generation's small roster resulted from that) so I expected at some point we'd have a trade-off with newly introduced Pokémon. I love the ever-expanding universe and being able to discover new Pokémon for the first time, and since I don't have a completed Pokedex anywhere to sway my decision, I can accept fewer returning Pokémon. Though, I do enjoy the overload of memes the controversial change has created. You can always expect the internet to make best out of a polarizing situation.**
> 
> **I think one of my biggest roadblocks in the first arc to using Brent's perspective was not knowing how to differentiate his thoughts and nonverbal descriptions from Ciel. The two have similarly headstrong and good-natured personalities, hence why they get along, but I struggled to actively distinguish their inner monologues. With Crystal, I make use of her sarcastic nature in her thoughts, while I exaggerate and use humor in many of Gold's. Here, I'm trying something new with Brent to highlight his inner positivity and backwater roots, especially since he'll have more focus for the remainder of the story.**
> 
> **Next time is Chapter 20: Forced to Stand. See you around!**


	20. Forced to Stand

"Huff, huff, huff, huff…"

A man strained every muscle in his legs to move forward. His nightly jog got harder every day if he didn't skip it entirely. His stomach bounced with every step. It was heavy to lift his own body despite how powerful his muscles still were. Letting himself go was the worst mistake he ever made.

"Put…one foot… in front… of the other," he huffed to himself. "One foot in front… of the other…"

He kept his face down, eyes on sandy beach he ran. He could barely see his feet past his regrettably enlarged gut. All he wore were some beaten up red pants—they were one half of a full martial arts gi that he'd long worn out, held up by a black belt.

Black belt. He kept telling himself to remember that as he struggled to put one foot in front of the other. A real martial artist wouldn't give up just because an extra fifty pounds weighed him down. It was barely training gear.

He muttered over and over to himself. "C'mon, Chuck. You… can do this. Breathe… and run. That's all you gotta do."

In his periphery, the sun fell behind the range of rocks jutting from the water. They stopped the larger waves off the Sekido Ocean from swallowing the shore whole. The only thing between him and a watery grave was an inert pile of earth. The fading light made the sand beneath him turn blue.

His left leg gave out. Slowing to a crawl, he tried weakly to keep running, but he knew deep down he couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't the person he used to be. He could never be that person again.

Chuck hunched over and caught his breath in the sand. There was nothing left. He just wanted to lie back into the sand and sleep. However, when he looked toward the ocean again, he could see something floating against the shore, threatened to be pulled away by the tide. It looked like… a person!

He called on any last reserves he could to reach them. He dropped to his knees to examine the boy. His skin was pruned and lacking in color. Chuck laid the back of his hand against the boy's cheek; it was cold. This blond kid must have been floating adrift in the ocean, but why? A shipwreck?

The man placed an emergency call as fast as he could. Sweat from his hands made the phone slip out of his grasp, but he gripped it tighter as the line connected. There wasn't much time left to save him, but damn him if Chuck wasn't going to try. He owed it to himself to try.

* * *

"The Boss wants you. She said Vampire put in a few words."

Heart rate of 60, meet 150. Proton thought he'd go deaf from his own heartbeat as he walked down to the Boss's office. His brain scrambled—he couldn't see, hear, or feel. Various prickles ran up his fingertips as he grabbed the Boss's door and stepped inside.

Proton sat in the chair in front of the Boss, who, as usual, was smoking a cigar. The neutral expression on her face was a farce. He knew what was coming.

"I'd like to congratulate you on some excellent work disrupting the schedules of the conservation workers at the Lake of Rage."

"Yes, ma'am!" he yelped, forcing a lump down his throat. For the fifth time this week, he'd been called into the Boss's office on recommendation. He stood at full attention, stiff as a pencil, arms at his sides and legs glued together.

According to Vampire, the operation there is ready to run," said the Boss. "We've got decoy guards in place at the Route Gate to prevent anyone from snooping and it's likely we'll have our catch within a few days."

"Of course, Boss! That's wonderful news for the whole Syndicate, Boss!" His shouting was alarmingly obvious because he couldn't control his voice. She didn't notice or care.

Ariana snatched a picture frame from her desk and spun her chair around. Never one to dawdle and risk his head, he took it as a sign of dismissal and hurried out the door. Proton's body was going to give out and he didn't need the Boss to witness it.

When he exited the office, the purple-haired culprit giggled, revealing herself as he shut the door behind him. A coldness ran his entire spine, but he was sweating. Proton experienced every type of physical shock at once. She didn't follow him when he returned to his own room, but he felt her eyes.

The first major break since the semester started in April left Proton with a lot of free time to do illicit things. His first weekend was spent bypassing the administration security for Goldenrod University and changing every official document to push the return of classes back another week. It might not fool the staff, but enough students not showing up would force them to cancel a day or two at the least. He thought himself a genius.

The Boss ordered him more and more work to do during the lull, mostly here-and-there ventures they were stirring excess cash with. An underground breeding ring had popped up in some of Goldenrod's unused basement tunnels and he judged about three weeks before the League caught on. As usual, he was assigned to keep security off them. A few looping static frames in one place and an unexplained malfunction in another was enough. Guys who watch cameras all day weren't the smartest bunch.

Proton even took to overseeing some of the shipments that were funneling through the base from Goldenrod, smuggled aboard an unsuspecting freight line. It wasn't his job, but Archer was busy being snotty about their overseas stiff and Petrel hated doing, well,  _anything_ that didn't service him, so no one complained. Really, any work to get his mind off the knife hanging over his head would do.

"Hey, Proton! Watcha dooooooin?" asked Squeak from above the minute he sat down in his bunk.

Squeak was his roommate, as despite being an executive in the Syndicate, he was still in a standard grunt bunk. Hearing her speak, Proton agreed with the codename. He said, "Absolutely nothing that warrants your curiosity."

"You and I both know there's nothing that doesn't warrant my curiosity. Watcha doin? Watcha doin? Watcha doin?" she squeaked.

"I'm hacking into the mainframe of the International Pokémon League at the Grand Axis," he said. Proton hoped the dismissive tone would make her go away. It didn't.

She giggled. "That's just movie jargon. What are you  _really_ doing?"

"I'm getting some actual work done," Proton told her, "so if you don't mind—"

"Oh! Have you seen the new Ghost Eraser movie? It turns out the Majin was part of some ancient conspiracy where a dead race sealed it away because it was a dangerous weapon! I bet they're gonna do a prequel next time.  _Scary._ "

Small talk is the mortal enemy of people everywhere. He'd already tuned her out and focused on the book in front of him. His literature class made him want to throw himself off the nearest bridge. She made him want to do a flip on the way down

Squeak hung from the bed atop his, meeting his gaze upside-down. Though he kept his line of sight squarely on his laptop, it was difficult to ignore her.

"So, like, me and Muscles—do you know Muscles, the big girl? Anyway, me and Muscles were hanging around the base and overheard that we might get to keep some Pokémon from the Indigo heist. I want Lance's Dragonite. That guy's a dreamer, ya know?" she said.

Proton kept silent and reread the same line for the fifth time. Now sixth.

She continued droning. Her voice was getting higher. "You know any of the juicy deets around the base? Apparently, Petrel is dating someone, that creep. No idea who'd give him a chance, what with the hunchback and face, but love is love I guess."

"What the hell do you even do here?" he asked, breaking his non-existent concentration.

"Super awesome stuff!" she exclaimed. "Archer says I can talk people's heads off so he makes me talk to big important people while everyone else is doing their thing. You believe the nerve on that guy?"

Archer might be the only one in the base with  _any_  nerve, he thought. Either way, Squeak used her talents well. "Why don't you go distract someone else?"

"But, I wanna distract  _you,"_ she chirped.

Ignore mode resumed. Closing ear canals, check. Downward gaze, check. U-shaped frown, check. Eventually, even rodents got bored.

"Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton."

Already in constant stress, Proton could barely stand it. He just needed everyone to shut up and leave him alone. He needed time to think and to decompress, time to formulate a plan in case Vampire ratted his episode to the Boss. Was that too much to ask?

"Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Hey Proton. Oh, wait, should I just call you Tomo? Tomo! Tomo!" she joyously squeaked.

He slammed his laptop shut and met her eye. "How do you know my name?"

"Well, I didn't exactly know it was your name, but you just confirmed the rumor. Tomo!"

He grabbed her by the collar, the sudden movement knocking his cap from his face and revealing his teal hair. He could see his own sharp expression reflected in her dark-colored eyes. Proton repeated, " _How_  do you know my name?"

The rough contact didn't sway her attitude. She giggled. "Come on, man. Everybody in the base knows your real name by now. You go to Goldenrod, right? You should be more careful who you talk to. Rumors don't discriminate."

He didn't tell anyone his name. Ever. Only one person could have spread it around. If the whole base knew his identity, that meant the Boss knew his identity. And if she knew who he was, she could find him even after he left the Syndicate.

The sweat came back. Looking at his hands, they trembled in place. There was no doubt that the devil was listening to their conversation. She wanted to keep that fear permanently shifting in the back of his head.

His reason for entering the criminal underworld was because he knew he could get out. He was a hacker! The thing Proton knew best was covering his tracks and disappearing when he needed most, and this should have been no different. But Sird—no, he shouldn't even  _think_ her name—Vampire had him trapped, held hostage before the most dangerous mobster in the macro-region.

Proton shot to his feet, which sent Squeak toppling to the floor onto a pile of her own strewn dirty clothes. The executive grabbed his cap, rushed out the door, and slammed it closed, leaving himself stranded in the disorienting hallway. A prevalent smoke smell hung above, and a dirty mold smell below. He already felt sick but being stranded in the dull passages of the Rocket Headquarters turned his stomach over and over and over and over. Proton needed to get out.

He shoved past Grunts loitering in the hallways, barking orders at them on impulse yet staring down to the floor. He didn't lose his cool. Never. But here he was, losing all his cool at once. Proton shoved one poor sap out of the way, which shattered a light at the base of the wall he slammed into.

"Do you care to explain yourself?" asked a stern face he didn't want to see. Archer just happened to be in the hallway while he was melting down and stepped out from behind a gaggle of peons. His thin eyes and immaculate suit always managed to piss Proton off.

"It's nothing, dude," he said softly. "Just let me through."

"You really should do better at hiding your anxieties. You punctuate every trouble with a pull of your cap."

Proton looked up and saw nothing. The brim was far over his eyes, held down with a free hand, one he never even remembered rising. Quickly, he pushed the hat back up, revealing his eyes to his de-facto superior.

"I need to get some air. Give me a mission. Any mission," begged Proton.

Archer traced the slick of his hair with a finger. He hummed. "There is little available. Some scouts are setting up a temporary base in the Seafoam Islands as a stopover for shipments from the western mountains, but it would be foolish to send more manpower than necessary. The same with the Lake of Rage. We're trying to keep our heads low after our previous stint, surely you understand."

"You guys always have something going on. What about Goldenrod? What about Olivine? Anything? Just give me anything anything, man," he said.

A glint appeared in Archer's eye that caught him off guard. Whether it was curious or superior, he couldn't tell. "We do have one open position, since none of our grunts are willing. But it's far outside your line of work. And it's far too dangerous."

"I already did the Slowpoke Well. Give it to me. I'll take it. Just let me leave the base for a while," said Proton.

" _Dangerous_ ," Archer repeated. "The kind where even Ariana's slippery fingers and silver tongue wouldn't save you if you get caught."

"I'll do it," he said again.

The man brought a hand down to his shoulder. He jumped, but there was a minor comfort in it. Archer gave a small laugh. "I hope you know that's binding. If you're so quick to get away from the base, find Petrel and meet me topside tomorrow. And don't say I didn't warn you."

Among the murmurs of the grunts around, Archer's steady laugh carried far after he'd walked away. Proton was stranded in the hallway and decided to find a couple of disorganized crates to sit behind away from everyone.

" _I'll run this as far as it'll go,"_ Petrel had said, _"and then when we inevitably go under, I'll probably find a way to escape. You should too."_

How important was it that he keep on? The Rockets were the only place he ever truly felt like he had a purpose. Not college, not at any stupid part-time he used to have, not even with some online forums he frequented. But, every synapse in his head screamed at him to disappear. Now he couldn't disappear now that he'd gotten so deep. The persistent memory of Vampire's giggle reminded him that no matter where he was, he'd never be alone again.

* * *

The cup of tea burned Ciel's palms, yet he couldn't put it down.

It was clear, void of creamer and the cheap teabag barely steeped. The face of a complete wreck stared him back from the reflection. He wouldn't look away.

The man standing over him breathed in, snorted, and rubbed his nose. He pulled a chair over—the kind of basic fold-up chair for parties—and sat across Ciel. A coffee table stood between them, but its surface wasn't visible under a mound of miscellaneous junk. The entire room matched perfectly. Picture frames, multiple standing clocks, bookshelves, trophy cabinets, paintings, old televisions, kitchenware, empty boxes, a record player; no part of the room was free of  _stuff._

"So, uhh," the man began, voice marred with scratches, "you should probably drink that. I don't know how long you were floating, but you've gotta be running on empty."

"No," Ciel said. He didn't feel hungry, even though he knew his body lied. A large towel was draped over his shoulders. "What day is it?"

"It's the tenth, no eleventh, err… Hey, Aki! What day is it?" he shouted out of the room.

An older woman's voice shot back, "Saturday!"

"No, the  _date_. Number!"

"I don't know. The tenth? The World Trial is next week. Let me check the calendar," said the voice. A few seconds later, she said, "Yeah! The tenth!"

The man turned back to him. "The tenth."

At least a day. It didn't really matter to him, but the smallest bearing helped. He removed one hand from the cup and pulled five Poké Balls from the pocket of his borrowed pants—whatever clothes he wore when he washed up were all-but destroyed, as was his duffel. He had nothing but five capsules, two of which were hollow, and a probably busted Poké GEAR on his wrist.

The man across didn't say anything when Ciel placed them between strewn belongings on the table. It was late at night with only a dim lightbulb to reveal the house's living room, but it was enough to illuminate a worn map across the room. Posters and postcards fought it for space on the wall. Ciel said, "Is that yours?"

He looked over at the map, and before he answered, his eyes lingered. "Yeah. It's all the places around the world I've been for martial arts tournaments. Used to, anyway."

Ciel scanned the map absently. The eastern continent was eclipsed with pins—there weren't any repeat colors, so the hundreds of markers plastered a rainbow over Kalos, Adala, Johto, Kanto, and Boreos. A few scattered points were marked on every other landmass. He'd been everywhere at least once.

"What's that one?" asked Ciel, whose curiosity was piqued by the odd placement. One pin was speared in the middle of a region-sized lake.

"Oh, that one! That's one of hell of a story," he said as he stood to examine the map. The man touched a finger to the printed waters. "It was like, 86, I think. They—the Pokémon League, I mean—were celebrating the twenty years since the big war ended, so they thought they'd invite everyone to the resort island in the middle of the Odisa Region and make it as big a thing as the World Trial. Really felt like it, too, staying in a luxury hotel and doing interviews and hanging out with the big government guys. It was the only worldwide event I ever took first in."

Ciel tracked his eyes slowly to the space above the marker, where an old medal hung. He must have been staring at it too, but Ciel saw a pang of sadness when the man realized how clouded the metal was. "Of course, Odisa's weather is  _insane,_ so it was 22 one night and a blizzard the next. We had to camp out in the arena when it hit during the finals. The runner-up dragged me aside and demanded a different competition to see who was still standing."

"I brought saké," said the other voice's owner as she stepped into the living room. She cleared the table some, almost halfheartedly, to make room. The man thanked her and shot some back.

Ciel looked up for the first time since he was herded into the man's home. The first thing he noticed was his sizable belly and Ciel felt guilty for staring. However, the rest of his body was toned, muscled, almost like it belonged to someone else. Trailing upward, a sizable moustache under his nose compensated for his balding, receding hair. He seemed of western descent, while his wife was clearly more native, like Ciel's own parents.

He kept stealing glances at Ciel's Poké Balls, but Ciel tried to find more nothing to talk about to distract himself. "Do you still do martial arts? Tournaments, I mean."

"Tournaments, not so much anymore. Not much for a guy my age to participate in. I moved on to teaching after I stopped doing regular competitions. Not that I'm doing much of that anymore either. Haven't had a class in, uhh..." His eyes gravitated to the floor just as his guest had been doing and he went silent. His wife wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"You're Charles Hartwig, Gym Leader of Cianwood," Ciel announced flatly.

"Oh! So, you know who I am!" He laughed and shot more of the alcohol back. His wife had brought over another chair and shared the drink. "And it's Chuck. Charles makes me sound Galaran."

"Why?" Ciel asked.

"Why what? I mean, it's a Galaran name. Dates to some old kings and—"

"Why have me stay with you?" Ciel elaborated.

Chuck shrugged. "It just seems like a nice thing to do. I don't want you sleeping in the sand for however long you're in town."

Ciel shook his head, causing the married couple to share a glance. He kept shaking his head, over and over and over until he didn't even know who it was aimed at. Closing his hands on his lap, he could still remember that sickly oozing feeling of blood and rain, Arden in his arms. Ciel finally decided what to say and looked up. "No. You know who I am."

Chuck leveled with him, and said softly, "You're Kori and Daku's kid. Ciel, right? You were at the Showdown."

"Why not send me back? Why deal with me at all?"

"You, uhh," Chuck paused, "you don't seem like you want to go home right now."

Ciel gazed again over his Poké Balls. Two of them he'd left in Olivine after letting one get hurt. He didn't even know if Arden was alive. Ciel shut his eyes as he felt small tears well up. His face probably looked scrunched and puffy, but he couldn't stop the flow. He rubbed his face haphazardly.

What kind of trainer was he? He didn't just kill one of his Pokémon by thinking he was hot shit—he ran away from it. His mother warned him against it. What would she think? She, a renowned Pokémon trainer with more wisdom than Ciel could hope to gather, would look at him in disgust. His father wouldn't offer a passing glance, not after Ciel acted like he had some moral high ground when they talked in Goldenrod.

Ciel failed. He failed, and Chuck was right. He didn't want to go home.

"Here, honey," said Chuck's wife, Aki, before she handed him a tissue. Ciel grasped for it with his eyes closed and dragged it across his face.

"I don't really know what you're going through right now, but look," said Chuck. "I get it. I really do. Sometimes you get washed up. Just try not to… live with it, okay?"

Ciel met his eyes. He tried to say something, but his throat suddenly burned. After going untouched, lukewarm, Ciel threw back the entire cup of tea. When he pulled the cup down, Chuck and Aki had already stood from their chairs.

"The couch pulls out. Just take of the cushions and pull up. Feel free to stay as long as you like. We cook too much anyway," said Aki in her smooth voice.

The two left him to his lonesome, missing two of his friends, barely back from the brink of dead, holed up in a stranger's house. They shut the light off when they left the room. Only the stagnant smell of hung paper and the uncomfortable texture of an old couch remained.

Ciel pulled his legs to his chest, continuing to stare at the spot where the map used to be. Ciel could no longer see it, so it ceased to exist.

* * *

It was common for Chuck to wake up in the middle of the night. Sleep never came easy to a man his age and it was more common for him to wake four or five times than otherwise. He slipped out from under the covers, slowly lifting his wife's hand from around his waist, and made for the door quietly. The floorboards creaked under his weight.

"Nnng, where are you going?" said a drowsy voice from the bed.

Shit. He whispered back, "I'm just gonna get some water. Trouble sleeping and all that."

Aki didn't move in the bed for a few moments. All he could hear was the slow tick tock, tick tock, tick tock of the old grandfather clock at the side of the wall. Normally, it would be soothing. It wasn't.

"You're going to the Gym again," she murmured with a pillow over her face.

Chuck dropped his head. She knew. She always knew, really, so it didn't matter how many different excused he gave. "...yeah."

"You spend more time there than with me," Aki said. He felt a pang of guilt.

"I need to get in shape. I need to train."

She sat up. He could see the vaguest outline of her body in the darkness, but nothing else. He knew she was boring holes into him with her eyes and could almost feel it. The clock kept ticking.

"Then why hasn't anything changed?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He never had the courage or the integrity to answer that question even if he knew full well why. Chuck was trapped in an endless cycle, the clock ticking away, his own life not waiting for him to get back on track. But he had to keep trying, right? If he kept trying, eventually something would change.  _He_  would change.

"Sorry," he whispered, before closing the door. After ducking his head into the living room to make sure the kid was still there, he slipped from the house.

Out in the sand, Chuck took in the galaxy while walking towards the Gym. The benefit to being so far out in a town as miniscule as Cianwood is that there was no smog to hide the stars. It's a real shame he had to live off the beaten path to see it and he wasn't sure it was worth the wasteland of opportunity.

A busted sigil hung over the door marked the Gym as separate from other structures in town. It was an older dojo, probably a hundred years old at this point, that had been dug into the side of the mountain that enclosed the city's west side. When he stepped inside and turned the lights on, the natural formations inside revealed themselves.

Most of the interior was cut or blasted from the mountain rock, creating what were essentially terraces with mats laid out for sparring on the different levels. A stream of water flowed through the rock, pooled in a small pond at the building's base, and drained through a canal the previous Gym Leader had dug to the sea. Supposedly it would take thousands of years for the water to erode the rock, but he could see the flow already sinking through the mountain, cutting it in two. Time was moving faster and faster.

Chuck, who hadn't bothered putting on shoes when he left the house, slowly dipped his feet into the water of the pool. Satisfied with the temperature, he slogged through the water to where the stream abruptly dropped into a waterfall above the pool. He needed to meditate. Sitting under the waterfall, clearing his head, letting it wash away, that was the solution to all his problems.

The door opened before he could step under.

* * *

Ciel had stared at the wall for hours. He wasn't tired, but he wasn't awake. He just was, and he hated it.

A few times he laid down on the couch—he hadn't bothered to pull it out—to drift off, but his mind kept wandering where he didn't want it to. Where was Arden? Arden was in Olivine. Where should Ciel be? He was such an idiot. Why hadn't he caught the next boat back by now?

Raven could take care of him, he rationalized to himself. Someone had to, and he trusted her more than he did himself at that point. At least, if Arden wasn't…

Ciel dug his hands into his face. If he couldn't protect his Pokémon, he shouldn't be a trainer. It was that simple. Every other decision he hesitated to make, but at least that one he could say for certain. Their safety was more important than his stupid dream, his stupid wish to be a protector.

He appreciated that Chuck let him stay but being in the house of a Gym Leader felt wrong. The hospitality wasn't deserved, not when he was such a failure in comparison. Chuck had it all figured out, but he acted like he understood what Ciel felt. It just made it worse. He didn't need the pity.

"What the hell am I doing?" he asked no one, whispering.

He felt around for his Poké GEAR on the table among his other strewn belongings after a while. Anything to pass the time to distract his thoughts would be fine. He doubted it would even turn on; it had been attached to his wrist while he floated in the ocean and was probably fried. It surprised him when a blinding light struck his eyes.

It was functional. It flickered and a significant part of the top screen was black, but it worked. Scrolling through the Pokédex, he bought himself a few minutes reading about unfamiliar Pokémon species. That quickly fell away when he passed the Cyndaquil line's page. He closed the app immediately.

His text notifications were barren. Crystal had sent him a few well-wishing messages and a photo of them hiking down Route 39. Ciel was tempted, if only for a moment, to send about what had happened, but he decided against it. No reason to bother them.

The only other person who sent him anything was Kris, who sent two texts with the exact same message asking him for a rematch. Like he'd be ready for that ever.

Nothing from Brent. He should have expected it when they split at the Bell Tower—they promised to meet back there in four months, so there was no need to update each other. They'd be there. Ciel hated that he'd have to be the one to send the dreaded message back.

"I can't make it. I messed up. Sorry," he said aloud as he wrote the message. His thumb hovered over the send button. However, he closed the conversation without sending it, leaving it saved as a draft.

Ciel opened his voicemail. Surprisingly, nothing was from his mother, but there were still fifteen missed recordings. All of them were from his father.

He stared at them for a while. The screen flickered again, going completely black for five seconds, before coming back on. He thought they would go away, but they were still there.

Ciel tapped the first one, the one he'd ignored on the route to Ecruteak. The speakers must have just gone bad, but after a few seconds of static, the audio faded in.

" _Hey,"_ said his voice,  _"just calling to check up on you. I said I'd be trying my best, so it'd be pretty bad if I didn't call at least, right?"_

Ciel sat through the five seconds of silence in the message. His father couldn't think of what to say even when they weren't face-to-face. But he was still saying something. The thought to call never crossed Ciel's mind.

" _Your Mom and I had our first actual double battle yesterday. Crazy, right? We signed up to be a pair of Gym Leaders, but it took us months to get it cleared. We'd just been alternating until then."_

"That's cool," said Ciel to the message, before catching himself.

More silence, then the voice continued. There was an underlying exhaustion behind it.  _"You should be heading to Ecruteak now, right? You can go two ways to continue the Gym Challenge there. Jasmine's the best in the region—I still haven't beaten her despite my Houndoom's typing, so I'd recommend saving that for last. But, I mean, I understand if you… don't want to come to Mahogany first. That's okay."_

Ciel started crying again. Crying at his mistake. Crying at how little he tried to reconnect. Crying just because.

" _Just be safe, alright? I hope that… when you come to face us in Mahogany, you're going to be the best that you can be. I've always been better at working things out in battle. Not a great speaker, you know me. So, give me a good one."_

The message ended. There were fourteen others, but Ciel didn't need want to hear them. His feet carried him off the couch, stumbling through Chuck's house until he found the front door. Someone had left a short while ago and he needed to find them.

Ciel dragged himself across the sand to the Gym. Where else would he be? There was nothing else in the town.

He threw open the door to the Mahogany Gym and saw the martial artist standing before a waterfall. He had no time to digest his surroundings as he pulled himself to the Gym Leader, through a pool of water, and issued his demand.

"Train me."

"What?" asked Chuck.

"Train me. I need to learn how to protect my Pokémon. I need to be stronger. I need to be better," said Ciel.

Chuck was tired. Neither of them was in good shape to have a conversation, let alone a decision like this. "Look, kid. I feel like I know what happened, but I'm not a battle teacher. I'm barely a martial arts teacher anymore."

"Then teach me martial arts!" exclaimed Ciel. "Something, anything so I won't make the same mistake again.  _Please_."

Chuck turned towards the waterfall. The flow, surprisingly, was silent. There was no noise aside from their soft breathing and the distant ocean. The man sighed.

"I don't think it's gonna help. You have to really want to make a change, to try, to not be satisfied with the status quo, or else it's not gonna change. It's easier to give up than to keep going."

"I have to," said Ciel. "I  _have_ to."

Chuck muttered. "I wasn't talking to you."

He turned around and presented himself. Where once stood a proud martial artist now laid an out-of-shape old man with an unkempt moustache. The silent waterfall behind him felt more powerful.

Ciel stood in wait. The man closed his eyes and breathed in, then out, then in, then out. In, out, in out. Seconds ticked away.

"Okay," said Chuck. He tightened the black belt around his waist. "Take off your shoes. We start now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **When writing this chapter, I found a fanfiction that I enjoyed and immediately decided my dialogue wasn't as good as it could be and needed to be filled out to make the world feel more real. I'd like to call this "skillful meandering". So, this chapter was my attempt at changing my dialogue for the better. I don't know yet how successful I was, but this chapter was a rare instance of me liking my work on the first read.**
> 
> **I watched Spider-Man: Far From Home a few days before this was published. I really enjoyed the film, specifically the MCU recognizing when an actor doesn't need to be recast. Anyone who's seen it will know what I'm talking about.**
> 
> **The next chapter's title and publish date are subject to change This would normally go live on July 19th, but I'll be going on vacation beginning the 12th and may not be writing actively.**
> 
> **Keep out for updates on my profile and check back on July 19th for Chapter 21: Closer. Thanks for reading.**


	21. Closer

**5:30 - Wake-up Call**

Chuck would knock roughly at the door of the guest room and shout for Ciel to wake up despite him not sleeping enough the night before. It was  _loud_. Ciel didn't know how his wife slept through it. After a short jog to the Gym across uneven sand, where he tried in vain to pull himself awake, Chuck would open the Gym and switch on the lights.

**5:40 - Stretches**

The Gym Leader mandated they do stretch sessions. He said it was just to get his muscles moving, but Ciel doubted that while contorting his torso to reach behind his legs. As he held his head as close as possible to the ground, Ciel violently shook under the stress, red-faced. Were stretches supposed to be this hard?

**6:00 - Basic Training**

Ciel knew nothing about martial arts. After all, with a Pokémon by his side, why would he ever need to learn to fight? The hike around the region was exercise enough and he rarely thought about punching an opposing Trainer.

Chuck practiced  _Wadō-ryū_   _karate_. The etymology was simple enough; "harmonious style," it meant, or maybe "way of harmony," but it didn't imply any specifics. The Gym Leader mentioned practicing other arts over his life, so his form deviated from the core, but it didn't matter to Ciel.

Each morning, they did basic punches and kicks.

"Right middle!" shouted Chuck.  _Migi-chudan._

"Ha!" Ciel vocalized, rotating his body into a mid-level strike. He thought the exclamation was excessive, but the expert insisted.

"Left-upper!" shouted Chuck.  _Hidari-jodan._

"Ha!" Ciel repeated, doing the mirrored motion. It was wearing him out already, and he had no idea if he was doing it right.

Ciel thought about the Pokémon that he abandoned in Olivine. Apparently, Chuck could see this, because every time it happened, a bellowing shout would draw him back to attention. He couldn't be distracted, Chuck said.

Each punch on each height level was practiced exactly 100 times. Then they moved onto kicks and followed the same routine. Chuck tore into him for his form on kicks, but by the second, third, or maybe fiftieth, he was figuring it out. Maybe.

**7:00 - Kata**

Ciel had seen these more elaborate movements somewhere—maybe a street performance or an online video—and thought they were a dance. He supposed, in a way, they were, so with no other frame of reference, he tried his best to treat them as such.

First, Chuck would show a segment of each choreographed movement, always beginning by holding his arms down in front of his body. Spin on the heel of the foot, transition to the ball of the foot and mid-level strike. One arm up in a blocking motion, the opposite shoulder back, fist curled at the waist.

Ciel followed as best he could, and Chuck was more than happy to slow down and explain the movement as many times as he needed. Still, it humiliated him to be such an amateur, especially when he lost his balance and slammed into the matted floor.

"Get up," commanded Chuck. "You can't stay down there all day.

"Sorry, sorry," he said.

"Sorry what?" his teacher asked in an indignant tone.

Ciel sighed to himself and tried to wipe away his self-disappointment in the split-second timeframe of a blink. He said, "Sorry,  _sensei."_

**10:00 - Meditation**

After continually trying, to various of degrees of success, to perform the basic  _kata_ , Chuck would insist they meditate. Meaning, they'd sit in one spot. For  _two hours._

As the rushing tide of the waterfall overcame him, he tried as instructed to clear him mind, to be at peace with himself. The raging flow succeeded at emptying his head but only because it was pouring in so much physical sensation that it flushed anything else out. He couldn't focus on his mind, nor anything besides the isolated roar around him.

The time didn't pass quickly. He fought the encompassing wetness and the urge to raise his voice and ask what they were doing, but a cursory glance at Chuck revealed a state of true reflection. Ciel squinted his eyes closed and rubbed the water from his ears before returning to his business. It was about as enriching as TV static.

**Afternoon - Free Time**

That had been their schedule for the past few days, and in the afternoon, with nowhere else to go, Ciel would prop himself up against the wall of the Gym and waste the day away. Occasionally, one or two—three if they were lucky—prospective Trainers would enter and stake their claim. The dojo was meant to house disciples that wore down a challenger before they reached Chuck, judging by the mats. He wondered if their absence was a choice or a consequence.

Ciel looked down at himself. A borrowed pair of training pants that barely reached his mid-calves contrasted against haphazard layers of multiple robes. They didn't go together, and given Chuck practicing multiple styles, they probably weren't supposed to. None of it fit him either, so he felt swallowed by the disintegrating hand-me-downs.

Rather than sit around and do nothing, Ciel pulled out a book Aki lent him about various martial arts practices, including those performed alongside Pokémon. He was halfway through already and it was a good way to spend the hours. As he read, he tapped his finger on the spine.

A resounding blow from Chuck's Poliwrath sent a challenging Hitmonlee into the mat. The nearly explosive punch connecting roused Ciel from a short doze just in time to see the challenger running crying from the Gym. She looked younger than him, barely out of high school, but the crushing defeat caused him to flinch.

Chuck walked by and sunk along the wall, sitting next to him. The man was sweaty and not all that good smelling, not helped by his lack of a shirt. The man said, "What are you doing?"

"I'm reading this book. Your wife said I could have it, so I've been trying to learn more about your karate style," Ciel said, holding it up.

"What? That's garbage," the man said. The judgement made Ciel's heart skip. "You can't learn anything from a book that you can't with real-life experience."

Dejected, he started to put the book away. The man noticed his slumped body language and tried to backpedal. "Hey, hey, I didn't mean it like that. Seriously. Did you learn how to battle from a book?"

"Yeah. I guess," Ciel replied, softly.

Chuck took in a deep breath, then sighed. "Well… okay. Keep reading. Sorry. If you learn a different way, sure. Sure."

Ciel knew they didn't understand each other, causing an extended silence between the two. He re-opened the book and continued, but Chuck didn't leave. They sat there in solidarity for the better part of an hour.

Eventually, Ciel couldn't take it and cut the tension. He asked, disrupting the silent Gym, "Why am I doing this?"

"Huh? Why you askin' me?"

A mentor figure he was not. Chuck maintained his ethos during their training proper, including insisting he be called  _sensei_ , but most of the time, he was just a worn-out, middle-aged man. Just like his dad. "I… I don't know why I asked you to train me, I just needed  _something_ to assure myself. I don't think it's working."

"You ever gonna explain to me what happened?"

It was CIel's turn to sigh. Chuck didn't press when he took ten seconds. He still didn't press when he took another twenty. The silence, that time, was understanding.

"One of my Pokémon got hurt. He's in Olivine and my partner is there with him. I let him get hurt in a battle and I left him there. I screwed up."

Chuck thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yep. You did. You screwed up."

That broke him. Ciel dropped his head to the floor, his world falling apart. He'd been trying to distract himself, and hoped he'd be offered some uplifting advice. He's a naive idiot if he thought he'd get sympathy for it. He's a terrible Trainer. This was the first time someone told him so.

"The basic concept of  _karate_ , any of it, is that it's not just fighting. It's a philosophy that you follow to drive you to be the best person you can be. For  _Wadō-ryū_ , that sometimes means you need to yield. To know your limits." Chuck put a hand on Ciel's shoulder. "When you really get into it, a lot of the actions involve keeping yourself out of danger or holding back when you know you can't win. You said you let your Pokémon get hurt. Okay, big deal. But what made it different from all the other times?"

"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." Ciel, still staring at the floor, shook his head, almost violently. "I thought I was good enough. I beat three other Gym Leaders, so why-"

Chuck cut him off. "Well, for one, I watched your battle against Whitney. You won by technicality, since she only had two Pokémon."

Right. The odds were in his favor. Against Bugsy and Morty, he similarly had a massive advantage by relying on Type matchups, if he wasn't banking on Raven's brute strength and longer training. Falkner just  _gave_ him the badge. None of them were really wins, were they?

"It sounds to me," said Chuck, "that you equated victory with talent. It's not so simple. If you went into the battle knowing you might lose, your Pokémon probably wouldn't have gotten hurt. You didn't know your limit and tried to push yourself and your Pokemon too far."

"My Pokémon might be dead," said Ciel. His fists curled.

"But you don't know that for sure?"

"No, I—"

Chuck cut him off a second time. "If your Pokémon was dead, the League would let you know. Your Trainer ID and your phone number are the same, normally. They wouldn't hesitate to make that call, and if they haven't, well…"

Ciel examined his broken Poké GEAR. He slipped it off his wrist and slid it away on the floor, putting his head into his hands, trying desperately to just breathe. Breathe. Okay. He took Chuck's words to heart, allowing him to raise his head.

"Why'd you leave him in Olivine?" Chuck asked. It wasn't confrontational but intrigued.

Ciel didn't want to say it. It burned his throat as the words left his lips. "I can't face him."

"Then that's what we're working on. We can't change your mistake, and let's face it, you made a mistake. But we can get you ready to face it, even if you aren't ready now."

Chuck stood from the wall, turned to him, and offered a hand. Sweaty, hairy, and dirty, but it was all he had. He took it and shakily pulled himself to his feet. A smile crossed Chuck's face.

"Head back and rest for the day. Make to bring your Pokémon tomorrow, whichever ones you have. We're gonna try something different."

* * *

Kori sat up to her knees in paperwork inside the Gym office. She personally didn't understand why Pryce had the Gym designed like a freezer—she considered herself an Ice-type specialist, but it was too much. A steaming cup of tea on hand wasn't enough, as even the generous 16 degrees in the office forced her to wear her signature coat, which made it a little inconvenient to do administrative work. Everything was pushed around and off the desk by the puffy material.

Invoices for liquid nitrogen, various maintenance bills, at least two suits filed by idiots who signed a waiver but still slipped on the ice. Pryce warned her about this. The League funded nearly everything, yet the Leader was expected to do the paperwork. She'd hire a secretary, but they weren't paid enough, especially since neither of them received a full salary due to the double Gym Leader situation.

She did all of this while surrounded by seven clamoring voices trying to marathon the itinerary. None of them wanted to be there, yet all of them were holding them up in their own way. Kori occasionally glanced at the eight-paneled window on her open laptop before returning to filing bills.

"Fauder, are you paying attention?" asked the Flying-type leader.

"Yes, Hayato. Please continue, don't let me stop you," she chided without looking up. Her voice could barely be heard among bickering between Whitney and Clair.

"Please address me by my family name. It's respectful to do so," said Falkner.

Before she could respond, Morty cut her off, mocking, "Please. I live in a city full of stiffs and I don't have a stick up my ass like you do. Oh, look at me! I'm  _Falkner,_  son of  _Falkner,_ son of  _Falkner._  I have a temple-sized  _bird cage_!"

Peeking at the screen, Morty looked worse for the wear—his hair hadn't been washed in days, she could tell, and the bags under his eyes were easier to see than his features. Hoping the attack would buy her some time, she signed here, then there, then here, then here...

"A cultural judgement is meaningless coming from a greaser who shops at a counterculture supermarket," Falkner shot back.

Morty shoved some food in his mouth on-screen. He spoke, chewing, "You don't know what fashion is. Step out of your gi every once in a while."

"Ladies, gentlemen, we've got more things to do, so let's please get on it to go home. Next on the list is maintenance requests," announced Jasmine, earning basic attention from the other Gym Leaders. The young-looking girl couldn't raise her voice if she tried, but she didn't visibly regret taking up the managing role when no one else would. She tapped the schedule paper impatiently. "Any machinery you need fixed that was out-of-budget for the normal weekly reports?"

"Uhh, I think my field generators are shot," said Whitney. "I hadn't turned 'em on in a while, 'cause I don't get too many flashy battles, and now the dynamo isn't spinning. And I had nothing to do with it, so put that on the record."

No one else had a request. The awkward silence created by Chuck—it was his turn to do record-keeping and no one would dare volunteer for it—writing down Whitney's statement stunned the company. The only audible sound was Chuck's muddled grumbling. Someone else took the opportunity to hop off the train.

"Where's your husband?" pried a cocky, beautiful-yet-irritating voice. She couldn't mean anyone else. "As you are aware, he's a Gym Leader too and is required to attend every meeting. It's an online affair, so he has no excuse. I might have to talk to someone on the Plateau about it."

Kori hated Clair. Really. A screen and 450 kilometers between them was bad enough. Face-to-face was  _unbearable._ The Blackthorn Gym Leader continued, "I shouldn't expect much from newbies like you, I guess."

"Wasn't it your idea to call an early session to get it out of the way? I'm sorry if my husband, with his real-life priorities, decided not to stay after today. Your cousin or the Viceroy or the international couriers will tell you to shove it next time you decide to break schedule."

"Why, you!" she puffed. The red in her cheeks was a pleasing contrast against her blue outfit.

Chuck was writing all of this down, still huddled over now a dozen report forms, hand furiously scribbling. They weren't allowed to leave anything out. Kori thought the immature bickering, potshots, and insults would get them reprimanded by the League, but she quickly came to the conclusion that this was what Gym Leaders  _do_. Morty and Falkner had devolved to cursing at each other in the background, while Clair hadn't yet recovered from her red-faced tantrum.

"Guys!" tried an exasperated Jasmine. "Seriously. Reputation report time. You know the deal: give us a summary of public opinion on you or the Gym facilities for the record.

"Why do we have to do this?" asked Whitney. "I feel like I shoulda asked before, but it feels so stupid. How do I even answer that? The guys think I'm hot, the girls are jealous, otherwise people don't talk about me much. I think they liked the other guy more."

Bugsy brushed his bushy hair from his eyes and spoke up for the first time in a while. "It's part of our yearlies. I've heard that the League docks points on our evaluations if they think we've gotten on the cities' bad sides. We're their faces and communicators, so I guess it makes sense, but there's only so much we can do.

"That's a drag. It's not like I can quit school to go proselytizing around the neighborhood. Like, what else am I supposed to do to make people like me?"

"For one," announced Clair, "you could stop embarrassing the League by acting like a spoiled brat. I saw that meltdown you had at the Showdown."

Whitney shoved her face into the camera suddenly so only one eye was visible. Though tailored with extensive eyeliner, extensions, and even some glitter, the sharp fury her gaze contorted into stared the other Gym Leaders back. "You think  _I'm_ a spoiled brat? You're like a bunch of four-year-olds wrapped in  _spandex_!"

"Charles, write that down, write that down. I need it when I file a formal complaint against this child," announced Clair. Chuck grumbled something under his breath.

"If we're up to keep working, Mahogany had been nice to Daku and I," Kori explained once the group had broken enough. She took a drink of herbal tea. "A few randoms sat in on a match and complimented us on our double battle dynamic, but I think it'll be a while before they really accept the change. I swear, every conversation I've had with someone had started with, 'you're the new Pryce.' It kind of hurts."

"The local Shriners still hate me. My challengers aren't old farts and think I'm pretty cool," said Morty. She assumed his sly smile and Falkner's stink-eye were aimed at each other.

Bugsy clapped in excitement. "I got a standing ovation at a local GCO conference for helping with some of their repopulation efforts. I think that constitutes a good rating."

"GCO?" asked Whitney.

"The Global Conservation Organization," Jasmine explained. "It's a non-profit, but it's basically an arm of the International League. They're trying to stabilize Slowpoke Well, right?"

Bugsy nodded, but the screen froze. The audio returned three seconds before the video. He said, with a distracting delay, "We're doing our best, but Slowpoke mating is finicky. It's probably going to fall through, and we'll move them to a nearby sanctuary, but here's to hoping."

They were nearing the end, which is why the whole party moved faster. They rushed, with a few more interruptions, through the remaining items on schedule. Kori herself had checked out and offered one-word answers to most everything while ripping through her own personal items. She shouldn't have stopped paying attention, but no one could fault her for it.

Volunteer opportunities, raise requests, upgrade requests, research briefings, they pushed through the end of the meeting with a surprising haste. No thank you, no, no, that's cool. The League rarely checked the meeting records anyway, so her answers were sufficient.

"The final item, of course, is your battle record. Everyone announce clearly your monthly performance. I'm at… 371, 20," announced Jasmine after checking something offscreen. The best in the Region, with a disposition that belied her ferocity.

Chuck announced his own at he wrote, "23 and 12."

"160 and 49," said a confident Clair.

"344, 80." Falkner. "99 and 85." Bugsy. "250 and, like, 190 something? 194, maybe?" Whitney, obviously. Morty half-heartedly said "68%," but didn't give specifics.

That only left Kori and her husband. They counted their record together. She said, "78 and 70."

It was barely over fifty percent. Below that, they'd be placed on probation. It had been a stressful couple of months teetering so close to losing the position.

It could have been feeling the onset of empty-nest syndrome. It could have been trouble adjusting to the new job. She didn't want to make excuses for herself, however, so she swallowed her pride and the stares everyone else shot her way. The expression of sympathy from Bugsy caught her attention. She held onto that above everything.

"I think it's meeting adjourned," said Jasmine once Chuck finally stopped writing, slammed the pen down, and tilted backwards in his chair. "Good night, all of you."

Her panel went black and three others followed. Clair and Whitney blew raspberries at each other as substitute goodbyes before they cut video feed as well. She was about to shut her laptop and be done for the day, but Chuck's window was still active. She waited.

He leaned upright in his chair. The man asked "Hey, Kori, do you, uhh, have my number?"

"Of course. What's the matter?" she asked with raised brows.

"Just, uhh, I might be calling you over the next few… weeks. Something came up over here and I think you might want to hear about it."

She questioned the lack of specifics, but she noticed he was still writing. She nodded.

"I'll keep in touch," said Kori. The screen went black and she shut the computer closed.

Now it was her turn to succumb to her chair. She felt herself swallowed by her coat, sinking into the seat beneath her. And here she was expecting to be able to forget about the others for the next month until that inevitable time came again, but she reminded herself that she was part of a bigger picture now. Mounds of paperwork were still left on her desk. She resigned herself to working diligently through the rest.

However, she had barely a moment sign another document before the door opened. "Mom! You've got a challenger!"

Spinning around in her chair with a confused expression, Kori sighed. "It's two hours past closing. The door was supposed to be locked."

"Well, I did lock it!" her daughter exclaimed. She was wearing three jackets and couldn't rest her arms parallel to her torso, but she didn't seem to regret offering to help clean the Gym. "But I was cold. He was already here when I came back inside."

"Fine, fine," said Kori, exasperated. "Hold down the fort in here while I go deal, alright kiddo?"

Laina saluted. "Yes, ma'am! Consider the fort held!"

She brushed some of her daughter's hair out of her eyes, and the combination of the fibers and the cold made her sneeze. Kori laughed, patted her on the head, and said, "let's hope you holding the fort doesn't leave me with a nasty cold next week."

After shutting the office door, Kori tapped a button combination on a nearby number pad partially obscured by icicles. With a rumble, a panel slid out to seal the door, preventing access by any would-be challengers. It also completed the room's aesthetic with a snowflake sigil adorning the makeshift wall. She sat on the ground to remove the bottoms of her shoes. The extended rubber soles hid skates within.

She became  _herself._ A beautiful snow spirit drifted across the ice, white robes trailing behind her, blending her into the ice and snow. Maybe Pryce was onto something. The freezing temperature in the Gym's main area melted her into the frost. It was clear, it was bliss.

Kori shot forward, passing through the arches separating each room of the Gym. The building was laid out as a gauntlet, each successive room being more complicated than the last and having an individual exit door if the cold overwhelmed the Trainers within. She kicked it up a notch. The speed was exhilarating.

Bursting into the front room, she pulled around and slid to a stop, kicking up a flurry as she did so. She announced her presence.

"This Gym is closed for the day!" shouted Kori in an assertive voice. "Pack it up and come back tomorrow, and if you'd like I can reserve you a battle at a specified time!"

The challenger at the door was not one person but two. Both flinched under the authority she commanded. It didn't deter them, however.

The boy spoke up, raising his hand in a hesitant wave. "H-hi Mrs. Fauder."

Having only met him in a large group at the Showdown, Kori wasn't sure what she expected from Brent Custos. Certainly, she envisioned a role model, the kind of person framed with confidence and infectiously inspiring. Looking at him now, she wondered if he always looked so plain.

He wore a simple green jacket over a white shirt. If not for the full-arm cast strapped to him, she might not have been able to pick him out from a crowd.

"You're my son's friend, right?" she asked while she slipped her shoe covers back on.

"Yep, that's me. I was afraid you wouldn't remember," he said.

"What do you need? My statement still stands, we're supposed to be closed."

"Oh! Sorry. I didn't see a sign outside or anything, so I thought…. nevermind. We'll be going!" Kori got whiplash from the sudden turnaround.

"No, no, come back. It's my discretion what I do outside of normal operating hours. I could spare a battle."

"Well, I have a specific request. Could we slow down, a tad?" he asked.

"Slow down? If you're asking me to go easy on you, then—"

"No, no, nononono, I mean… well, I don't know what I mean." He motioned to his cast, and said, "I'm not in the best shape right now and I'm not sure I or my Pokémon can go nonstop."

Kori, still unimpressed, watched as the boy awkwardly shuffled his companion in front of him, a girl wearing a black and gold floral jacket. Her more proper disposition hid behind an aura of nervousness. Both were shivering messes.

Brent continued, "More importantly, my, uhh, friend Zuki here is a new Trainer. I don't think she's even seen a sanctioned battle before."

"I'd like to watch your Gym Battle, ma'am, to try to make sense of it. I want to learn how Trainers command their Pokémon," said the girl. She bowed deeply.

On one hand, Kori wanted to go home. She really wanted to go home after a long and stressful day. However, their display just barely won her over. Maybe it was the amusing hesitation around the word friend, or her pitying his broken arm, or just that she felt benevolent towards someone her son trusted. She withdrew a capsule, an Ultra Ball, from the sleeve of her coat.

Brent did the same, and they were ready. The girl, Zuki, took her place at the sidelines. They were still shivering and wouldn't last long, and without a referee, she'd need to finish it quickly, cleanly, and effectively. She grinned. That's what she was made for.

* * *

As Crystal stepped from the guest room, she wished Silver goodnight, receiving hardly anything in return. She lingered in the dark room's doorway for a moment and tapped her fingers nervously on the doorknob. She eyed the Poke Ball on the dresser. Leaving it there made her nervous.

He muttered, half-asleep, from under the covers. She couldn't make it out aside from it being two words. It could have been "fuck off," knowing him, but she liked to think it was something appreciative. Crystal pulled the door closed.

In the hallway, the Olivine Pokémon Center rang empty. The city slept early, after all the industrial workers returned home for the day. Not much of a night life, and surprisingly few Trainers, probably due to the city being further towards the edge of the region. She could only imagine Cianwood was even quieter.

All of Gold's Pokémon were active when she returned to the table. Marigold, his Bayleef, repeatedly bounced upwards and caught her own Poké Ball with her head leaf. Crown, his Togepi, suddenly jumped from the table. The Grass-type awkwardly caught her teammate's rounded body and began trying to juggle both Crown and the capsule. She was failing, but the baby Pokémon was having fun being tossed into the air.

Gold's other party members slept. His newest, a Doduo named Trinity, stood upright on two powerful taloned legs, its double necks curled against itself. The subtle movement of the two heads rising and falling on the creature's own torso didn't bother it. She'd questioned the name, but Gold assured her that the species had three heads. Eventually.

Her wandering eyes landed last on Slowpoke. It never received a name. It too was dozing on the floor of the Pokémon center atop a hastily assembled mass of pillows. Gold stared at it. He stared and stared and stared.

"Well, Silver decided to turn in early," she announced as she pulled out the opposite chair and sat down. "He seems exhausted. Emotionally, I mean. Today's been kind of a rollercoaster for him."

"Huh," said Gold halfheartedly. He hadn't removed his eyes from the Slowpoke. "You sure any of his Pokémon even want to work with him again?"

The psychic line was tangible, Crystal thought. She pulled her attention away. "I couldn't say. Professor Elm said he'd had a few professional caregivers… therapists, essentially, try to rehabilitate Croconaw. He was afraid it would never trust another human again."

"If it doesn't?" asked Gold.

"Then we tried our best, I guess." She rubbed her arm. "We're trying to help two opposing parties at once. I never said I expected it to work out perfectly."

Marigold, who had by then dropped both Crown and her Poké Ball, nudged against her Trainer's hand. A simple gesture—one Gold would usually be all-in to reciprocate—that he met with a simple pat on the head, leaf, whatever. She'd left Crown upside-down on the tile, forcing Gold to stand from his seat and flip the Togepi over. The baby Pokémon began to run in circles, undeterred by such a minor setback.

Crystal leaned back in her chair. They'd start Silver's battle training tomorrow. Admittedly, she didn't fully believe how ready Silver was. He'd been a criminal for nearly all his life and wouldn't be shedding his temper or inferiority complex anytime soon. He was like a timebomb that had already gone off at least twice. But there was something about his reluctant persistence that she respected. Was it a willingness to change? Maybe. She was willing to believe that, after what Gold had said…

Speaking of, she decided to say something. Placing both hands on the table, she leveled at her friend. "Spill. You haven't cracked a joke, you haven't done something stupid, and you're being awfully sentimental."

Gold paused. "Sometimes, when I look at him, some thoughts swirl around and I don't really know what to do."

"And that's why you haven't used him in battle much," she said.

Gold nodded. "I just don't feel right about our journey sometimes."

"Anxiety?" she asked.

"Nah."

"Fear?"

"I have no idea what that is."

"Are you sad?" she pressed.

Gold flicked an accusatory finger in her direction. He said, "I haven't cried since that creep Eiji Moto stole my magnet train playset in preschool. I don't do sad. I'm a  _big boy._ "

Her friend flashed his toothiest smile, washing away anything in his head. It's what he always did. She couldn't remember the last time he was deterred by anything—in that regard, he was just like Crown. He was a hopeful child happy for life itself. Despite that, the smile didn't last, and he resumed his staring.

"I think it's called… app— apprension? Apprentation?" Gold trailed off, rolling the word over in his mouth. She wished she had a drink to nurse. "The one where you're just not sure it's the right choice. Are we really going to do this?"

Crystal understood. "The Rockets."

"I get that you don't want the police involved because Silver might get arrested, like how you fudged his name when we talked to the cops in Goldenrod. But, we're just kids."

"The person who brought them down last time was also a kid," she said.

"But this guy," he pointed to the Slowpoke, ignoring her, "has nobody anymore after what happened in Azalea, so I want to do it for his sake. But all I want to do is yuck it up and travel and get caught up in relationship drama. And we're still helping a criminal and I technically stole an endangered Pokémon, but it's the right thing to do, I think. It's so hard."

She was going to ask him what he thought was right, but she was cut off by that smile slowly creeping back on him. He shot from his chair, jumped up and down on each foot, touched his hands to the ground in a full back arch, stood back, placed his hands on his hips, and smiled. The one or two patrons still awake in the Pokémon Center were staring.

"What just happened?" Crystal blinked a few times.

"I'm over it," said Gold.

"What?"

"I'm over it. I stopped thinking about it, so I don't care about it anymore," he said. The words rolling off his tongue were as confident as ever. That different person was gone. Gold stepped back through the doorway and closed the door behind him. "Whatever happens, happens. Not like I'm in charge here. I like you dragging me places because I don't have to make decisions."

Crystal sighed and placed her head in both hands, touching her elbows together. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Don't tell me you don't love me for it." He grinned.

"Do I?" asked Crystal.

"Do you?"

She hummed, ignored the question, stood, and began walking to her room. She waved behind herself, forcing Gold to scramble to chase after her. "It's too late and I can't keep up with you. Have fun, Gold."

He shouted in protest, chasing after her. "I want to hear you say it!"

She was set to crash for the night. However, the assignment board shifted names and caught her attention. Crystal turned to the oppressive neon glow, for only a moment, before moving on.

She stopped. She doubled back. Gold slammed into her, barreling the two of them into the ground in a shouting pile. He groaned as he laid over her, but she shot her eyes up again

"Why did you stop?" asked a disoriented Gold.

She coughed. "Look."

At the very bottom of the emergency list, two Pokémon were named to Room 38. A Quilava and an Absol. The former wouldn't normally have caught her eye, but in combination, it couldn't have been anyone else's, could it? Crystal pulled herself to a stand, rolling a groaning Gold off her.

She dragged him through the main doors of the emergency ward, leaving his Pokemon in the lobby temporarily, past nurses milling about. Twisting through the maze of hallways, they came upon the room in question, door locked but a window allowing them to peer through. Crystal's eyes widened.

Ciel's Quilava, Arden, lied amongst a mass of wired equipment in a medical tube. The stained bandages covering his midsection hid most of his body from sight. She moved to the side to see the other Pokémon curled into a ball on the floor beside the tube, breathing softly. It was only when Ethan recovered from being dragged off the floor that Crystal was pulled away from the glass.

"What are they doing here?" he asked.

"I don't know. Ciel must have gotten into some major trouble, but why would he leave his partner Pokémon too?"

A nurse approached them, having noticed them staring. "Do you two know the Trainer of these two Pokémon? He hasn't come back for them since they were interred, and we've been questioning everyone to find him."

"We're friends. How long have they been here?" Crystal asked.

"A few days. The Quilava is in bad shape. It'll be a week before he's even ready to walk around and maybe months before he's back to top condition. The other Pokémon hasn't left its side since." the nurse said. "Someone said his Trainer ran out of the Pokémon Center when they were pulled inside but no one has seen him since. Have you?"

Crystal shook her head and tried to wrap her head around the situation. She and Ciel had been keeping up through text ever since they left Goldenrod and she considered him a friend. He didn't strike her as the kind of person to abandon his Pokémon, and his partner was rarely seen separated from him. He was a good person; she was sure of that.

Pulling out her Poké GEAR, she checked their text log. No new messages in days. She sent one of her own, asking if he was okay. She waited a minute, maybe two, Ethan watching over her shoulder, before closing it and tossing it back in her bag.

She placed a hand on the glass again. Ciel's Quilava would walk away with a permanent scar and maybe worse permanent damage, sorrowfully reminding her of Maron's own scar from the well. She caught the attention of his Absol. Her name was Raven, right? She peered up at them in a moment of recognition, before putting her head back down.

Crystal whispered under her breath. "What exactly happened here?"

* * *

"Are you sad that you lost?" asked Zuki.

"Nah!" exclaimed Brent. He stretched his left arm over his head. "I kind of figured. It was more for you than it was for me, anyway."

'I thought Pokemon Trainers were supposed to be competitive types," she said.

He and Zuki walked through the streets of Mahogany the day after Brent's loss at the Gym.

It was a quiet little hamlet lacking in style, most of the ground simple dirt and sand with no mindful fixtures, but it made up for it in a simple rustic charm among the basic wooden houses. It reminded him of his place back in Cherrygrove. He wasn't taking the loss hard and enjoyed his day, though his partner couldn't say the same.

"Come on, buddy. Cheer up!" he said to Furret who was being hugged against his body. The big baby was too mopey to walk by himself, so Brent had his good arm under the Pokémon's front paws to carry him. "Next time we go back there, you're gonna be way stronger, then you, Gyarados, Eevee, and Tyrogue can take 'em down."

Furret continued to whine while Tyrogue, who personally opted to walk with them rather than stay in stasis, looked up at the sound of his name. He returned to practice-punching at nothing when all Brent had to offer was a soft smile.

The traded Pokémon preferred to train by itself, he found, but he couldn't tell if it was standoffishness, nervousness, or self-determination. Whatever the case, when the group stopped to spar, Tyrogue preferred to stand to the side and work the air. Sometimes, he'd attack wild Pokémon. Or another Trainers' walking Pokémon. Brent had to apologize a lot for that one.

The broken arm was doing better. It didn't burn much anymore, but it wasn't like he could use it for anything except carrying an extra item. The cast and sling supported it enough that it didn't bother him, though the cast itself itched. A lot. Unfortunately, he had no way to scratch through it, leaving the arm constantly irritated.

"Where are we going? Are we training today?" Zuki asked, with a bit of excitement. She had opened a small notebook, in which she had jotted down a few notes from yesterday's Gym Battle.

"I didn't really have anything on the brain besides just hanging out around town. Except, that is…"

He placed down Furret and held out one arm to the low-hanging sign of a beaten-up souvenir shop in the center of the village. Even larger than the shop's own sign, however, was a flashing, spiked panel that read "RAGE CANDY BARS SOLD HERE," arrows pointing down at the door. One window was boarded up and the other was missing.

Brent led the girl and his posse of Pokémon inside and announced his presence at the counter. It took a couple of minutes for a revolting old man to appear from the back room. The smell hit his nose before he could see the man, but Brent wasn't going to give up without what he came for.

"One Rage Candy Bar, please," he said, one elbow on the counter.

The man stared. He said nothing. Brent's eyes followed his arm as it moved below the countertop, slow as molasses. A small package was pushed across the counter.

The man drawled, "Five-hun'ed."

Brent happily slapped a coin on the counter and took the bar, feeling the man's suspicious gaze. He hesitated to ask, "You know any good places we could hang out around here?"

"Don't go to da lake," he said after a pause.

Zuki planted herself in front of him, and while she winced at the stench, she was ecstatic. She asked, excitedly, "There's a  _lake_?"

"Yeah, the Lake of Rage. It's the biggest lake in the region," he said.

The man repeated, "Don't go to da lake."

"I've always wanted to see the water! There are only a few streams in Ecruteak. Let's go to the lake!" Zuki said after turning to him.

"Don't go to da lake," said the old man a third time.

"We're going to the lake. Thanks for the candy bar!" Brent shouted behind him as Zuki dragged him out the door. The man's bulging eyes never left them until they were out of sight.

Brent offered Zuki the bar once they got moving. She examined the green box and the black-wrapped candy within. She peeled the wrapper in half, exposinging the simple brown candy. Nothing suspicious it about it, she judged, because she tore off a sizable bite.

He grinned. He waited.

Her face exploded into fire. She was screaming. Barely able to speak through coughs, she gasped, " _What is this!? My entire mouth hurts! Ah!"_

Her foot-tapping fit sent him into laughter. She puffed in fury, exacerbating the red coloring in her face. She looked like ripe red Tamato berry. Retrieving a bottle of water from her bag, she swallowed the entire bottle in a single swig. When she pulled the bottle down from her face, there was a conflicting expression.

"This is… wow. After the spice, it tastes superb!" she said, red in her face slowly disappearing and her mouth smeared with chocolate. Then she pointed an angry finger at him. "But, you're not in the clear for not warning me. That was a dirty trick."

Still chuckling and snorting, Brent managed, "It was really funny, though."

"You jerk!" she said. "You're definitely taking me to the lake now. You don't have a choice."

He swooned. "Oh, woe is me! Kidnapped against my will."

They left the northern border of town shortly. It wasn't much of a walk, anyway. The Route Gate funneled them through the mountain that bridged Mount Mortar and the range leading to Blackthorn. Passing through the windowless, lit tunnel, they emerged on the other side in a strange, different world.

The entirety of Mahogany and its adjoining routes were on the leeward side of the mountains separating them from the Lake of Rage, so they'd been starved for greenery for a while—truth be told, it had made the hike upward rather boring. There was only a second between the rocky incline of the mountain and the world of ardent greens.

Trees rocketed fifty-some meters into the sky and even their earthen trunks had a leafy undertone. Upward branches twisted and curled like complex highways for wild Pokémon to dart across-the entire canopy rustled and swayed and buzzed and chirped with the life of creatures within. He saw Kakuna and Metapod bound to the trunks, Aipom swinging across branches, and even Spinarak casting their beautiful webs across gaps in the brush. One of the arachnid Pokémon hung down on its web to observe them as they passed by.

Brent accidentally ran into the only tree in the area that wasn't a tree. The angered Sudowoodo swiped its stony arms at him in defense before breaking for a nearby bush, disappearing. He scratched his head.

"It's breathtaking." Zuki's eyes filled with wonder, probably more so than his own. She hadn't seen beyond Ecruteak, so he could only imagine suddenly being thrown a new experience like this. She inhaled deeply, prompting him to do the same. Brent tasted the world through the air.

"Lucine needs to see this," she said. She pulled out her Poké Ball and released her Umbreon to the underbrush, who announced her presence with a growl. Once the red glow vanished, she explored the forest and sniffed hesitantly at some of the nearby plants. Brent release Eevee, who approached and exchanged greetings with his evolved relative. He'd let Gyarados out once they reached the water.

They and their Pokémon made their way through the forest towards a known, yet unknown, destination, following sparse signs. The troupe, rowdy and alive, cleared the path beneath the trees with their presence alone. Eevee rode on Lucine's back, the two rubbing their heads together.

Brent liked Pokémon battling. He really did. His Pokémon did as well, and they bounced off each other to succeed and grow. But, to him, this is what Pokémon training was really about. Just yucking it up while having a nice walk was more exciting than anything, though maybe it had to do with his choice of company.

"I'd just like to say," Zuki began, "that I'm glad you're with me. I've seen so much already, and I've been enjoying every moment of it. I can't even imagine how much more we have to see."

"Aww," he sounded, face flushed. He scratched his head. "I'm glad you're putting up with me trying to be a hero."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're already a hero," Zuki told him. "Just remember that. When you're not tricking me into eating dangerous spices, that is."

Eventually the trees began to thin alongside a negative grade towards the eventual water of the lake. Brent and Zuki didn't rush—they were too busy enjoying the simple afternoon hike. Nothing could disrupt the simple experience of the afternoon. Which is why, at first, they didn't notice the growing silence around them.

Furret extended its tail to perk vertically before them. His ears went crazy, angling in multiple directions, trying to pick up signals, but they were thinning out. It took Brent a moment to realize the situation, or lack thereof.

"Wait… what happened? Where'd all the Pokémon go?"

Zuki looked around the forest. The previously alive trees had since stopped moving, leaving the forest eerily frozen in the moment. A pin drop might have been audible around them. "This is odd."

"The signs said a midway gate was this way. Let's go check it out, just in case something bad happened."

They took off through the forest, racing the wall of trees to their destination. It was only getting quieter, and creepier, though Brent swore he heard a distant, resounding cry every couple of minutes. His heart beat faster than their footsteps. It shook him to think what might have scared all the Pokémon away.

Coming upon the small roofed structure, Brent and Zuki pulled to a quick stop when they noticed two men loitering in front of it. Clothed in black, with gray boots and gloves, they didn't look like they wanted to attract attention. Except, of course, for the bright red letter "R" emblazoned on their jackets. They moved with dangerous intent once they noticed the two Trainers, unfazed by their four active Pokémon

"Looks like you're in the wrong place at the wrong time," said one of the men while cracking his knuckles. His partner didn't say anything, but a flash released an Ekans that snapped its jaws in their direction.

Focusing his vision past them, Brent's eyes widened at a pile of unconscious—he hoped—bodies laid out inside the gate.

"Ekans, use Bite!" announced the second man.

It dove for Brent, and he wasn't fast enough to dodge. Its fangs sunk into the cast, only barely breaking his skin below but piercing enough to make him shout. Furret lunged at the creature and yanked it off, tossing it away by wrapping its own tail around the reptile and flinging it into a tree.

He didn't want to hurt them, but he also didn't want themselves to be hurt. Especially Zuki or his Pokémon. Fortunately, the choice was made for him as a small pink figure rushed past and delivered a devastating blow.

Tyrogue wasn't exceptionally tall. Therefore, the easiest place he could hit a human male was the worst place possible, and he drove the punch home. The man screamed in a high-pitched voice before falling over, dropping a Poké Ball he was about to release a combatant from.

"Lucine, use Dark Pulse!" called Zuki.

Eevee jumped from atop the larger Pokémon's back before it released a wave of Dark-type energy, exploding in the direction of the other attacker and his Pokémon. Caught off-guard, both fell to the ground, exhausted by the single attack.

Brent looked over his friend, who breathed heavily but nonetheless had a determined expression on her face, arm extended in command. He blinked, just for a moment, to make sure he knew who he was looking at. She turned to him. "They're the Rocket Syndicate. I recognize the symbol."

"I know. But what are they doing here?" he asked. Just like Ciel and Crystal had said. He didn't even know they were still around, but here they were.

They met each other's gazes and remembered the words of the man at the souvenir shop. Don't go to the lake. They said in unison, "The lake."

After briefly checking that the people inside the gate were still breathing, they took off even faster down the route. They went faster. Faster. It wasn't a long stretch until the lake, but they couldn't have been running fast enough. If the Rockets were involved,  _something_ bad was happening. He could only guess it had something to do with that ever-present roar in the background.

Faster. Faster. Faster. Faster. He pushed his legs harder and Zuki was determined to keep up with him. They and their Pokémon held forward.

The trees stopped. Green of the forest opened to green of the plains, and before them was a massive body of water, spanning far enough that the land opposite them was barely visible in the distance. A roar knocked him off his feet.

Brent looked up to see a Gyarados, much like his own, but this one a brilliant red in color. It once again opened its mouth to bellow a cry. One of pain, he realized, as he noticed the multiple harpoons sticking from its body within the mass of netting it was entangled with. The red wasn't just its scales. It struggled and thrashed, unable to be pulled from the wires and rope.

Around the base of the lake, groups of Rockets huddled among their machines. Two structures held the nets in place that were cast over the Gyarados, pulled taut to prevent escape. Another was ripped straight from a ship—a harpoon gun used for fishing, or in this case, poaching.

His sprint broke even faster as he tried to intercept the machine and the criminals operating it. It loaded another. He couldn't be fast enough.

" _No!"_ he screamed.

The harpoon pierced the Pokémon's skull. The once-great behemoth crashed into the lake, dead in an instant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This is the first anniversary of this story being published to FFN. While I did start publishing here later (due in no small part to the invitation emails being hidden by default in my inbox), I've been doing this for a year now. Despite a few ups and downs, I'm still going strong and I don't plan on stopping any time soon.**
> 
> **As for this chapter, it was a bit of a mess. It's longer than usual because I was behind on a few events in my outline, and at multiple points I skipped around and left scenes unfinished and broken. Still, I've grown to like the chapter a lot more while I was rereading to edit.**
> 
> **I hope it's not painfully obvious that I know nothing about martial arts. Every piece of information about Wadō-ryū karate in this chapter was learned through online databases, sparse videos, and interviews with a few of my friends. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can wrap my head around without practicing the art myself, so apologies if anything here is inaccurate.**
> 
> **Next chapter should primarily focus on Crystal, Gold, and Silver. Come back on August 10th for Chapter 22: Where One Belongs. Here's to another fun year of this story and beyond!**


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